Worth Fighting For
by VioletWilson
Summary: Edward: a workaholic with no time for anything or anyone. Bella: a woman reeling from a bad relationship. When Bella accidentally gets hired by Edward, what happens? Is there feeling behind the fighting? You can't hate someone forever..can you? OOC AU ExB
1. Starless

**Worth Fighting For**

**Chapter One**

**Hi! Okay, so the summer months are upon us, so naturally, a new fanfic is in order. Why yes! I am lame. Anyway here is a shiny new story for you to read. Hope you like it. It's all done in Bella's POV, so no confusion there.**

**And if you are here, thinking this is an add-on to Some Kind of Wonderful, I'M SORRY! I'M WORKING ON IT! This just sort of….. flowed. I couldn't help it.**

**One more thing: I actually do like most of Stephanie's characters, no matter what they've done, I have soft spots for them all. So if I portray them in a negative light, know that I really **_**do **_**like them immensely.**

**DISCLAIMER FOR WHOLE STORY:**

**I do not, nor will I ever own Twilight. So, by association, I do not own any characters or settings. I do however, own my ideas and by association, any characters or settings that **_**I**_** invent. So, with that said, read on.**

**:Starless:**

"Just through here." Said the smug voice of the receptionist, Lauren was her name, pushing me into the little room outside of Edward Cullen's office. The room was small, but visually stunning. A huge window took up an entire wall. A small desk with a modern computer and office supplies was the only real furniture in the room, matching the minimalist look that the office used.

I nodded at the main office receptionist, fingering the silver pendant around my neck. She threw me a knowing smile as she shut the door behind her, no doubt going off to smirk at every other person who walked into the thirtieth floor.

I looked down at my watch. It read 8:22 in big blaring letters, and I wished I hadn't arrived early. I could see the New York skyline from the huge window in the office office. The night sky was starless, lit up only by the lights from the huge skyscrapers, which obscured my view.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot. I wasn't happy to be here this late, I didn't even _know_ Edward Cullen. Not that I wanted to. Alice didn't like him: I didn't like him. We were best friends, so if he got a bad reputation by her, I didn't like him either. It didn't matter that they were related, they hadn't really spoken to each other at all since the fight.

However, even if she didn't like him, she didn't like fighting with him either.

I pulled the letter out from my handbag and looked at it again.

Alice had written the letter a thousand times, rewriting it again and again until she had it perfect. I had wondered what she had said more times than she had rewritten it, but I knew it was private and didn't ask. I had briefly considered opening it, but immediately thought better of it and felt terrible for the thought. What Alice said to her brother was private. I was positive it was a nice 'Fuck You' note, because Alice had quite a temper.

Alice had been trying to communicate with her brother for almost a year. She was sick of the bickering between them

By this point, my four-inch heels were starting to really hurt, and I was regretting wearing shoes I hadn't broken in yet to this appointment. I eyed the chair at the desk and decided to sit in it.

I had eight minutes, I might as well get comfortable. I walked over to the smooth metal desk and sat down in the chair. I leaned back and sighed, relishing the feeling of getting off my feet.  
The desk seem unnaturally clean and organized, as if no one was using it.

I sat for a minute and felt silly sitting there doing nothing, so I pulled out a job application and started filling it out.

I had quit my previous job at an advertising firm when a relationship with my boss had gone sour. I quit after I heard him bragging about our relationship _at a business meeting. _

Mike still kept calling me, begging me to come back to the firm. I blatantly refused and had taken to ignoring his calls and had taken to turning off my phone muttering profanities under my breath whenever he called. I sat for about a minute when I heard a loud screeching noise, like car breaks squealing.  
I froze, listening hard, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from and _what the hell was making it. _As it grew closer, I realized it was someone talking. Or screaming, which sounded more appropriate. The sound grew closer, I realized that it was coming to the door of the office. By the time I was certain, the doorknob turned and two things happened at once.

Firstly, I sat way back in the chair, still clutching my pen, and tried to be invisible.  
Secondly, two people walked in.

The first was a young woman about my age, with shoulder length hair that was a beautiful strawberry blonde color. I immediately identified her as the source of the high-pitched moan. The second man was probably the most incredibly gorgeous person I'd ever seen.

He had striking emerald eyes which were lit up in annoyance. He had the most surprising colored hair…. It was gold, but so much so that it was almost bronze. He was tall, about 6'2 I guessed, thin but not lanky. His expensive looking business suit couldn't hide the muscles I could see, faintly outlined through the black material.

I would have observed how incredibly handsome the man was, or at least thought it in the back of my mind before I shunned it with thoughts of Alice, but the scene before me was simply too amusing.

"Eddddwaaaaaaarrrrdddd." The woman whined, stomping after Edward.

"Tanya, just stop." He said as he stopped in front of me and whirled around to face her.

"But Edward-" She continued. They didn't seem to have noticed that I was in the room.

"Look Tanya, I don't want to talk to you right now, I have things to do."

"No you don't. You're just saying that."

"Look Tanya I do. Right?" he said, abruptly turning to me. I gripped my pencil tighter and nervously shuffled the job applications in front of me.

"Um…" I said. I had no idea how to answer him. Did he think I worked for him? That I knew these sorts of things?

"See! She's so overwhelmed at my work load that she doesn't know where to start." He insisted. Tanya stopped and eyed me suspiciously. By now, I understood.

Edward Cullen was trying to lose a girl, and since I was feeling sympathetic (even if I didn't like him), I decided to play along.

"Is that true?" she said coldly. I raised one eyebrow and my lips formed a disapproving smile.

"Mr. Cullen is a very busy man Ms…. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." I said swiftly, in my best business voice.

"Tanya, Tanya Denali."

"Well Ms. Denali, I don't think you realize what kind of a job Mr. Cullen has. He's a busy man, and sometimes business gets in the way of pleasure. I personally don't advise relationships during a project as large as the one Mr. Cullen is taking on."  
"Which would be what?" she said.

"Ms. Denali." Now my voice was blatantly condescending. "I am under a contract of secrecy. It isn't allowed for me, or even Mr. Cullen, to tell you. I'm sure he'd like to, but he's going to be very busy. I have several important meetings already on his calendar. I wouldn't expect much from him as far as relationships go."

A disappointed frown crossed her face, and I could see Edward nearly melting with relief.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I looked down at it, and the caller ID said 'Alice'.

I flipped it open and she started talking at once.

"Did he take it? Was he rude? Did he open it in front of you? What did he say!" she yelled into the phone.

"Really?" I said, using Alice's conveniently timed phone call in my little charade. She was about to be very confused. But it didn't matter what Alice said on the line, Tanya and Edward Cullen could only hear what I said out loud. So if it _sounded _like I was getting an important phone call for some matter of business, it didn't matter if Alice had _actually_ called wanting details of the letter.

"Really what?" Alice chimed.

"So the meeting was bumped up a half an hour?" I continued.

"Wait- what?" cried Alice, and I could hear the confusion in her voice.

"Of course! I'll tell him."

"Tell him what? I didn't _say _anything!"

"Right, we'll leave now."

"Leave? What?"

"We'll be there in five minutes."

"Be where?" Alice yelled.

"Good bye." I said.

"DON'T YOU DARE HANG UP ON ME! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?" she shouted, and then I hung up, throwing Edward a look that said _My work here is done._

He turned to Tanya and said

"Look, my work is more important to me than a relationship with a girl who has virtually no brain. I have a meeting to get to Tanya. Just leave." She looked outraged. She stared at Edward, then at me, then at Edward and at me once more before she turned and stormed out of the room.

He turned to me, a speculative expression on his face.

"You're welcome." I said loudly. I grabbed my bag and was about to grab the letter and leave when he said

"Work starts at seven tomorrow morning, I'll have someone send over an access card tonight. You'll need a brief case."

I gaped at him.

"What?" I said bluntly.

"Well you work here now." He stated, as if that should be totally apparent.

"Could you explain your logic there?" I hedged, not sounding quite as angry as I would have normally because I was still reeling from surprise.

"She'll be back, and she'll know you lied if you don't actually _work here_." He sighed. I suddenly came to, and realized what he was saying.

"No. No, no, no. I don't want to work for you. I don't need a job." I responded icily.

"Then why do you have a pile of job applications on the desk?" he retorted with an arrogant smirk. I cursed internally and scowled at him.

"I don't want to work here." I insisted.

"Then why'd you help me?" he retorted.

"Because I was trying to be _nice_!" I hissed. He laughed.

"For a girl who seems so smart, you are really naïve, "

"I have to go." He started, and he just walked away from me towards the dark doors that lead to his private office. "Seven o'clock. Don't be late." And he shut the door on me, just as I was about to stop him.

"You don't even know my name!" I yelled at the door. But it didn't open, and I was left sitting there, confused, irritated, and shocked.

I walked out of the office and hailed a cab in a daze.

I was _so _confused. I tried to work it out in my mind as I sat in the taxi.

So…. He had hired me because that girl- Tanya- was coming back, and since she thought I was his assistant, or something, I had to be there again? And then on top of that, I hadn't ever gotten to deliver the letter Alice had wanted me to.

"Crap!" I muttered to myself, thinking about how pissed Alice was bound to be at the little stunt I had pulled with the phone call.

So overall, the day had been confusing a confusing blur where I'd defended a guy I'd never met from a girl I didn't know, thoroughly confused my best friend, and gotten into an argument which led to my eventual hiring.

This job was going to be dramatic, I could already tell.

**So that's that! **

**Now before you all yell at me for making Edward seem mean, hear me out. **

**Firstly, this is an AU, so it's not going to be very similar to the Edward we all know and love/fangirl stalk. **

**Secondly, you all read the description, you knew that Edward was going to be arrogant and bossy.**

**Thirdly, do you think that I would **_**ever **_**make anything other a BxE story? Really. This one is just going to take some time to become that way. **

**Kay? Kay.**

**-Violet**


	2. Shameless

**Chapter Two:**

**Oh. My. Gosh. You guys seriously rock. Not even joking. Thanks for all the reviews, I love you all. As of now, I'm sitting in an airport Crown Room place. I'll be writing most of this (and the rest of SKW for those of you who are rather peeved at me for not doing that yet… hehe.) on a plane! YAY!**

**And updates will be rather patchy because I'm traveling with little wifi, so don't expect too much. **

**I'M UPDATING SKW TONIGHT! REALLY! Just let me finish editing it.**

**PS. If anyone can find the Monty Python's Flying Circus reference in this chapter, I swear I'll mention you in the next chapter!**

**(CRAP. Another long A/N. Sorry.)**

**:Shameless:**

The cab pulled up in front of the familiar stone building where Alice and I lived. The driver uttered a rough

"Twenty two fifty." And I shoved the money in his hand and stormed out of the cab. It drove off, and I was hit by another wave of nervousness. Alice was bound to be ticked, and my excuse was not one she would enjoy hearing. I braced myself and walked into our building and into the vintage metal lift. The clattering metal elevator's squeaking and banging elevated my already tense mood. I could almost hear Alice's tiny feet pacing back and forth, waiting to berate me. The lift clattered to a halt and squeaked open. I took a deep breath, marched to our door and pushed it open.

She was upon me before I could close my eyes.

"What the HELL was that? Did your head explode? Did you just not hear me? Were you being held at gunpoint? Ignore that last one. Just tell me, what happened??" She cried, jumping up from her chair to grab the purse, hat, coat and scarf from my person in one swift movement. She deftly threw them at an armchair where they landed neatly.

I stood there for a second, slightly shell shocked. I had been bracing myself for Alice, I hadn't been expecting the Spanish Inquisition.

"Hello to you too Alice." I said dryly.

"Don't say hello! Tell me what happened!"

"Fine, fine!" I started, but I waited before I launched into my lengthy story, and instead walked over to the kitchen, grabbed a coffee mug, and hit start on our coffee machine.

"No time for coffee!" Alice snapped, running over to me. I started my tale talking calmly enough.

"Okay. I walked in early. He wasn't there, so I sat down and took out my job applications. Then he walked in, and this trashy looking girl was moaning at him. They got in an argument and I didn't thing they'd seen me, when he turned and started addressing me as his secretary!" I hadn't noticed the way my voice was rising in pitch and how hard I set my coffee cup down on the counter.

"And then, I helped him out, you know… played along. And then-" by this point, I had left my mug on the table and was now pacing around the kitchen in frustration. "I got your call, and pretended that you were a business associate calling to tell me that he was late for a meeting! So then I hung up on you, which by the way I feel terrible about, and assumed he could handle it!"

Alice was looking alarmed at my death march around our kitchen.

"And then- oh, oh, oh this is the best part- he ditches her! Just like that! Calls her stupid and brutally sends her out. And _then_- yeah, it gets better-" I was almost hysterical now. "I say 'you're welcome' and he's all 'you work here now', and I'm really confused and then he just _leaves! _And he said I needed a brief case or something and someone is bringing a work pass over! What the hell! What kind of a person says thanks by hiring someone for a job they didn't want and didn't apply to! I was forced into it!" I vented. Alice walked up to me seething in the middle of the kitchen. She gave me a reassuring hug and started rubbing my shoulders soothingly.

"Oh boy. Bella, what did you expect? This is _my brother _we're talking about her. He's the psycho one, remember? He owns a company; he has a god complex and a huge ego. He is also very smart. And then you are down to Earth and solid. You're on an intellectual par with him, and you can hold your own in an argument. I should have known you wouldn't mix well with him, you're just made to anger each other."

"Yeah." I sighed, letting out a huge breath to calm down.

"So relax. Just go talk to him tomorrow." She said, still massaging.

"Oh, I never did get to give him that letter. I'm so sorry Alice."

"It's fine Bella. Just give it to him whenever." She soothed. And she patted my back and let out a huge yawn.

"Well, it sounds like you've got another 'appointment' with my brother tomorrow. I'd say get some rest, but you've still got to wait up for that access pass don't you?" she smirked.

"Is teasing me the only revenge you're going to seek for my disastrous meeting with your brother?" I joked. Her eyes lit up playfully.

"I'll never tell!" she joked as she waltzed out of the kitchen and over to her bedroom door. I sighed and walked back over to my previously abandoned coffee mug. The coffee I had started to brew but abandoned was growing colder by the second. I groaned.

_I hated cold coffee. _

I grimaced and poured a cup. I took a tentative sip, discovered it wasn't horribly cold, and flopped down on our couch with perhaps an overly dramatic sigh. I turned on the TV and prepared myself for a long evening of reruns and made for TV movies.

**oOo**

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. The obnoxious sound woke me from my half hearted dozing and jolted me back to a state of consciousness.

"I'm coming!" I groaned. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. The sound came again, ringing in my ears as I stumbled to the door and threw it open. A man about my age in nice clothes was standing at my door. He looked _very _unhappy to be out this late (my watch beeped ten thirty) but his face lightened a few shades when he got a look at me.

"Hi, you must be here about that card?" I said. He nodded enthusiastically and extended his hand. I stared at it disbelievingly for a few seconds before I tentatively extended my own hand and shook it.

"Eric Yorkie." He said.

"Bella Swan. Nice to meet you." I said shortly. I wasn't in the mood to flirt.

"Here's this, you just need to sign on the dotted line." Eric said as he extended a clipboard with a small metal card on it. I shrugged, not at all in the mood to fight with anyone at this hour.

"There." I said. I grabbed the little metal card and looked at it closer.

"What kind of card is this?" I said slowly as I turned it in my hands.

"It's a special access card, a type of technology used only at Cullen Inc. The little indents are a personalized access code which will give you access to all the features your job designates." He said. It sounded like he was reading from a cue card.

"You want to repeat that?" I muttered to myself, and it didn't appear as though Eric had heard me because he just kept talking.

"When you come in tomorrow walk up to the gates outside the elevators and push it into the slot. An elevator will open that will take you to the right destination."

"Not big on freedom of choice at Cullen Inc, are they?" I said dryly. Eric smiled, but I was fairly certain he didn't get the joke.

"And you're all set! Have a pleasant evening Ms. Swan." He chirped. I put on a smile and waved as he got into our loud elevator. I almost laughed as he jumped in surprise at the racket it made. I was still chuckling as I shut the door and headed gratefully to bed.

**oOo**

Alice woke me up the next morning.

"Bella?" She said softly. I groaned and feebly pulled up the covers.

"Bella?" she said again. I groaned.

"Don't throw something Bella, I know how much you hate to wake up, but it's time to greet the day. Or at least, go tease my brother for not being able to defend himself against one half starved model." She whispered, and then she mercilessly ripped my covers from my body. I threw her a dark look as I stood, which she returned with a radiant smile.

We were total opposites, but best friends for life.

Half an hour, two cups of coffee, one spritz of perfume and a bagel later, I was out the door and in our thunderous elevator. It came to a screeching halt, rattling my frayed nerves. I grimaced and stepped out. My neighbor Mrs. Finch was at her mailbox in her bathrobe.

"Hey Mrs. Finch." I called breathlessly. She muttered something that sounded like 'damn elevator, I have a hang over.' I laughed silently and jogged out onto the street. I shivered in my jacked as I hailed a cab and adjusted my hat.

"Sixty second and Elm." I said breathlessly. The cab sped off and started another freezing cold New York day.

All around me the city was awake. People pushed each other in line for the subway. Brave pet owners sauntered in the park as their dogs bounced around sniffing things. Vendors were out on corners chatting with people ordering breakfast to go. Small newsstands belted out the latest news and people walking by flinched against their emphatic calls.

New York was my domain, my home and I reveled in its familiarity. The cab pulled up in front of the shining beacon that was the Cullen International Agencies building. It had a very famous reputation and there were all sorts of rumors about possible scandals and drama. But nothing was_ ever _proved about them. Cullen International Agencies wasn't nicknamed the CIA for nothing; it was an extremely private place. All thirty floors were draped in mystery.

The cab stopped with a screech of breaks. I took one last breath of stale taxi-cab air, shoved fifteen dollars into the driver's hand and pushed out onto the frozen sidewalk.

The building reflected the cold morning sun beautifully, lighting up the small courtyard that served as the entrance.

It was beautiful, art to be sure, but it was a cold and formal sort. It was the kind of situation where you just felt out of place. The courtyard mirrored my mood.

I pushed through the crowd of well-dressed people in suits and skirts and was grateful I had chosen to dress professionally today, even if I wasn't taking the job.

I followed Eric's instructions perfectly. There was a set of imposing metallic gates that reminded me of the gates used in subway stations, except these were gleaming and free of half chewed gum and fingerprints. I jammed the metallic card into the slot, and sure enough, an elevator dinged open. I shuffled in and the doors slid shut ominously.

This lift was smooth and silent, and I thought with a smile how different this elevator was compared to the vintage one back at the apartment.

Finally, the elevator dinged and opened up onto the thirtieth floor. Lauren looked shocked at seeing me again, and I smirked at her.

"I have an appointment I believe. Mr. Cullen is in for a verbal bashing." I said briskly, not bothering to wait for her to confirm or deny my appointment. It didn't matter really, I would be gone in ten minutes anyway.

I walked past the desk and around the corner. Just behind the desk was a large wall where a huge piece of art that looked suspiciously like a Picasso. I walked around the wall and came face-to-face with the same long hallway I'd seen yesterday when I'd first come here. I padded softly across the thick carpet and past the gilded mirrors and huge bouquets of vibrant flowers in expensive flowers. I gave them a wide berth, fearful that I might break one by tripping.

It was obvious this was where the big dogs of the industry worked, it was draped in formality and richness. I reached the end of the hallway and was about to open the door, when another door directly to my right opened with a bang.

An absolutely stunning blonde stuck her head out. I gaped at her for a second before she grabbed my arm and dragged me into her office. She leaned in slightly as if she were about to clue me into some secret.

"Are you Edward's new secretary?" she whispered. I grimaced and nodded my head no.

"Well... sort of." I amended in a whisper.

"You're the girl who told Tanya off?" she whispered.

"Yes, but why are we whispering?" I said, still whispering myself. All the hushed talk was making me nervous, something I didn't need as I was about to tell off a head executive of a major corporation.

"Oh… right." She said in a normal voice. She straightened up and extended her hand. I shook it without hesitating.

"Rosalie Hale."

"Bella Swan." She smiled warmly at me, and I smiled back tentatively. I was feeling very intimidated.

"What was all that?" I chuckled.

"Oh nothing really. I needed a confirmation from you, because I don't trust anything Jessica says. By the way, Jessica is ticked that you got that job. She's been wanting it for a while and since you got it…. well she's annoyed." Rosalie said with a noncommittal wave of her hand.

"Doesn't matter." I said quickly. "I'm not taking the job, she can have it! I'm just delivering a letter." Rosalie cocked her head to the side interestedly, signaling her interest.

"Well it was sort of a misunderstanding. My… friend knows Edward and asked me to deliver something to him, which I tried to do, but then I made the mistake of helping him get rid of… whatshername-" I started.

"Tanya." Rosalie added. I nodded thankfully and kept going.

"So I was trying to help him get rid of Tanya by pretending to be his secretary and telling him he had a meeting to go to. So she leaves and he told me that I worked for him, or some crap like that. And then he left into his office and said he'd send me an access pass or something, which he did, so here I am! I have to tell him that I'm not working for him in a million years." I said, and this time I did it calmly. Rosalie nodded knowingly.

"Has this happened before?" I said hopefully.

"Nope, never. In fact, Edward can't seem to keep an assistant for more than a week. He fires them all, so it's a good thing you don't want it." she said. I shrugged.

"We'll I'd best be off, get this over with you know. Nice to meet you." I said. She smiled and held the door open for me. I turned to go and ran into a _huge _man.

"Excuse me!" he said warmly. I smiled.

"No trouble."

"I'm Emmett, nice to run into you." He laughed.

"Bella Swan, nice to meet you too." I chuckled.

"Excuse me, I'm a little late for an appointment I never made."

"Well you'd better get going. They're not expecting you after all." He laughed again.

"Goodbye!" I chimed, pushing past the friendly couple and over to the big mahogany doors. I could hear the whining again, and I grimaced. I had already decided that I didn't like this Tanya girl.

I didn't knock as I pushed open the doors and sauntered inside. The scene in front of me was laughable.

Edward was in a heated debate with Tanya who wasn't wearing any shoes and her top buttons were _mysteriously_ open, exposing waaay too much cleavage. Edward wasn't wearing a tie, and he too had _lost_ his shoes.

I was thankful I had come late. I didn't want to imagine what I'd have walked into. I entered as Edward was speaking.

"And further more Tanya you-" at this point I cleared my throat deliberately. He looked simultaneously angered, surprised and confused at my presence.

"You're here are you?" he said brusquely. I nodded, trying to contain my laughter.

"What?" he spat. I shook my head and a small laugh escaped my lips. I tried to mask it as a cough, but failed miserably.

"You!" spat Tanya to me.

"Well I normally go by Bella, but I suppose 'You' works too." I said dryly.

"Ms. Swan, come into my office." Edward commanded.

"Why sure! Would you like me to take off my shoes? Because it seems to be a trend in here." I said as I eyed their bare feet with mock envy.

"Just go." He said. I raised my chin defiantly.

"Your wish is my command your highness." With that I pushed past them and into his office.

Edward's office wasn't what I was expecting. It was dominated by massive pieces of furniture done in a similar style to the rest of the office. A huge window was the focal piece of the room and the view topped even that of the view in the room with the desk. Most of the walls were covered in shelves, which were filled with books and- to my surprise- CDs.

My head snapped around as I heard the door close. Edward was storming up to me, shoes in hand.

"Oh good, you've found them. Now I don't feel so passé." I teased. He just scowled at me and sat down at his desk.

"You are late." He said.

"Late for what?"

"Your job."

"Oh, about that." I started, tapping my finger on my chin thoughtfully as I walked up to his desk.

"Not on your life would I _ever_ work for you." As I said this, I slammed the hand that was at my face down on his desk with a reverberating bang.

"Was that necessary?" he said dryly.

"Will it make you get the picture?" I retorted.

"Not on your life."

"I don't want to work for you!" I spat. His eyes became very cold, and for a second I was sure that they went a shade darker.

"Tough!" he jeered. I staggered backwards. This man had some nerve!

"No! Not tough, no!" I retaliated.

"Please!" he said suddenly, and his voice was almost kind. I staggered backwards, completely taken off guard by his sudden change of voice, which was no doubt his intention. He was totally devious.

"W- wait what?" I blurted out.

"Just do it." he hissed, all traces of kindness gone. I felt more confused than before but didn't let it show. I _was_ going to win this argument.

"You're _asking _me now, very courteous." I hissed. He looked enraged which gave me a sort of dark satisfaction.

"Dammit you are the most irritating person I've ever met!"

"Then why do you want to hire me?"

"I don't!"

"Then maybe I'll take it, just to irk you!" By now I was just taunting him.

"You couldn't bother me if you tried. You're too easy to ignore." He hissed. That stung. I fancied myself sort of interesting and much to vocal to be ignored. So I took drastic measures.

"Too easy to ignore?" I hissed, and I could feel a smile spreading across my face.

"Yeah!"

"Tanya! Come in here!" I yelled at the door. I glanced back at Edward, who looked horrified as he realized what I was going to do.

"Don't!" He cried, but he was too late.

"Yes?" Tanya said, appearing in the room.

"Edward's meeting got cancelled, he's free _all day._" I said sweetly. Edward was glaring at me and I was beaming at him.

I had won the argument god dammit, and he was going to regret the day he messed with Bella Swan.

"Are you sure?" She stuttered disbelievingly.

"Yes of course! I'm his assistant _after all_." I simpered. And with that, I turned and left the room, flipping my hair over my shoulder and beaming at the two.

"I'll be at my desk if anyone needs me." I said, and this time I couldn't control my laughter, because Edward looked like he thought I would explode if he glared at me hard enough. I slammed the door with needless gusto and hoped that he caught my drift.

_I was not going to be intimidated, and Edward Cullen was going down. _

**oOo**

**Luckygrl27**: I have my ways! Mwahahaha! No not really. We all do it hon! :)

**toxicwaffles**: First off I love your name, secondly… COOL! I've been threatened for my writing! YAY!

**ellabella13**: All in good time my dear, all in good time. (Don't you just hate me? lol)

**La tua Cantanti**: Wow! Perhaps the longest review I've ever gotten. Here is my response. Yes, I agree with you, thank you and you are correct, thank you, Yes, I like fanfic too. Phew.


	3. Emotionless

**Chapter Three**

**Okay this might be slightly improbable, so don't shoot me please.**

**Also, I would like to congratulate Ksangi for recognizing the MPFC reference (Monty Python's Flying Circus for those of you whose head isn't secretly living in the sixties.) in the last chapter. Congrats!**

**And I'm sorry this is so shit, it's just I'm traveling, running on five hours of sleep and my eyes have been hurting. So pardon me.**

**:Emotionless:**

My fingers raced across the keyboard with practiced ease. The click-clack noise was a constant, steady sound, but not loud and even enough to drown out the blaringly loud noise coming from Edward's office.

I had been sitting in his office typing up a report for almost the whole day. Rosalie had dropped in after lunch and delivered another one for me to work on. Edward and Tanya had left for a while, and the look Edward threw me as he traipsed past me was one of utter loathing. I could barely contain my laugh. After a few hours Edward and Tanya had returned, and Edward looked positively put out. Alice had called me around lunch from her office and asked where I was. I had said that it was a long story and I would explain it to her at home. She had laughed her bell laugh and said that she'd be counting on it.

Now it was nearing five in the evening, and the sun had set. Edward and Tanya had retired to Edward's office and I had continued my boring work.

Mostly the noise was muffled except for the occasional burst of noise loud enough to break through the thick mahogany door.

"Tanya! Just shut up!" came the muffled cry. I could hear my fingers slowing down their waltz across my keyboard, but I was too distracted. There were more muffled shouts and I could make out one word: "Why?". I was perplexed. Whoever said it didn't sound mad, just confused or curious. Of course I could have misheard it through the wall, but it didn't sound as angry as the other exclamations.

My fingers had stalled to a stop now, my forefinger resting on the j key and my thumb on the c. I was in the middle of typing the word 'jackass', as I wrote an email to Alice.

"Just go!" came the very audible sound. There was a sudden jangling of the door and I suddenly understood why 'just go' was so clear, because Edward was opening the door.

"Fine Edward. But you know that I'm right." Tanya hissed as she charged out of the room. I saw her throw me a nasty look and I raised my eyebrows up in surprise. I hadn't done _that _much to Tanya, surely she wasn't _that_ vindictive.

"Just LEAVE!" Edward hissed from the door.

"We both know how this is going to end Edward, you can't admit it now, but you'll know in time that I'm right." She hissed as she threw me another look. This time I was ready, and glared back at her openly.

"Get out!" he roared. Tanya threw me one last look, and then she flounced over to the door, threw it open and charged through with a huff. The bang of the door was probably heard throughout the building. I glanced over at Edward, who was slumped against the door tiredly.

"Boy, what did you do?" I said with a small smirk.

"Tanya _cannot _take a hint." He said.  
"So… you wanted a one night stand and she wanted a relationship?" I surmised. Edward turned his head to me slowly, seeming to examine my face studiously. I managed to hold back my grin as I stared blankly back at him. He didn't answer my question, but continued to study me. The longer he looked, the more I wanted to look away. However, I felt as if we were in some kind of competition, like a staring contest in elementary school, except we were full grown adults.

I don't know how long I sat there, staring into his emerald eyes; it could have been a long while. Time seemed to slow dramatically, or perhaps it sped up, either way I found myself drifting the longer I looked at him.

Suddenly the door flew open, and we both simultaneously turned our gazes at the door.

Rosalie Hale was standing there clutching a notebook to her chest as she looked at us with a look of surprise on her face.

"Am I… interrupting something?" she said with a smirk. I pulled back in my seat in horror.

"God no!" I shouted. Rosalie nodded, but regained her professional tact and walked into the room.

"Here's that report Edward." She said briskly. He marched forward and grabbed the notebook from her.

"Thanks." He muttered as he began rifling through it.

"Hey, are…. Are you going to that dinner with Carlisle and Esme?" She said quietly. Edward looked up sharply from the notebook and his eyes flashed.

I looked down at my keyboard and tried to give them some privacy, it didn't seem like my business, but I couldn't help overhearing Edward's loud reply.

"Did you think I was invited?" he said. I still didn't look up.

"If you'd only just show up one day!" she exclaimed. I stood, thinking that they needed some privacy. I rose quickly and started to walk out of the room but Edward's second loud reply stopped me.

"Where are you going?" I could feel the blush warming my cheeks at his exclamation.

"Well… I thought maybe you would you know, want some privacy." I said softly. Edward's blatant shock was obvious and embarrassing. I could almost hear the blood rushing to my cheeks as my blush deepened.

"Edward stop staring! She was trying to be nice for god's sake!" Scolded Rosalie. I exhaled loudly and continued on my way out the door.

I pushed past Rosalie and Edward and slammed the door shut as I exited. My embarrassment coupled with my dramatic exit attracted a few odd looks from people mulling about. They looked up from whatever it was they were doing and then promptly averted their eyes awkwardly. I ignored them and started forward, not really sure where I was going. I marched past Lauren who was leaned in conversation with a girl with dark haired curls and a small slightly mousy face whom I took to be Jessica.

They looked up at me with an expression of curiosity mixed with mild distaste.

"What happened to you?" Lauren said. I shrugged.

"Don't know I suppose. My boss is just socially awkward." I said. Jessica looked shocked, but I ignored her and continued my destination-less march. I found myself wandering over to the elevators. To my further surprise, I pushed the up button.

The doors opened and I stepped in without hesitation. I pushed the button for the topmost floor and the doors slid shut.

After a few minutes of waiting, the doors opened again onto a small corridor. I marched forward tentatively. I pushed the door at the end of the hallway and saw that it opened to a set of narrow stairs. I could feel a draft coming down, and I guessed that it opened onto the roof. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and dashed up the stairs.

I realized as I got to the top that no doubt the door would be locked, as security was tight. I pushed on the door futilely for a good minute before I noticed the silver card reader next to the door. I pulled the metal card out of my pocket slowly.

_Would it work? _I doubted it, but I tried it anyway.

To my extreme surprise, the light turned green and the doors swung open, revealing a large industrial looking roof. All sorts of metal pipes and vents jutted up at odd places surrounded by a railing that was waist high. But the thing that really caught my eye was the view.

The skyscraper towered above the rest of the buildings and gave me a clear view of the skyline and most of New York. I let out a loud breath at the beautiful sight and was instantly glad I had come up. I slipped out of my shoes and used them to prop the door open so I wouldn't get locked out.

I sighed dreamily and sank down onto an obliging pipe that was about seat level to stare at the sky. My thin sweater was doing a lousy job of repelling the cold, and my bare feet were freezing, but I knew it would be worth it.

It was beautiful. The twinkling lights of the city almost made me think that there were stars in dark sky. My breath fanned out in front of me and I could see the ice crystals it created as my breath froze in front of me. I shivered in my jacket again.

I sat there for about five minutes, losing myself in thought when a noise from behind me caused me to cry out in alarm. A warm hand touched my shoulder and I whipped around to see who it was.

Of course, it was Edward. I sat staring at him for a moment, slightly shocked.

"How did you get up here?" He said. I couldn't really see his face, but his emerald eyes were impossible to miss.

"I needed some air." I said. Edward's eyes flashed in surprise.

"It… just felt so peaceful." I said quickly. Edward seemed to understand what I meant and sat down next to me. It might have been awkward if it weren't for the stunning visual in front of us.

We were silent for a few moments until he spoke again.

"I didn't think anyone but myself knew about this place." He said quietly. I turned to look at him. His eyes were probing me intensely as if I was supposed to say something important. I turned my face away, not wanting to become locked in his gaze again.

"I found it I guess. Or maybe it found me. I don't exactly know, I don't feel like myself lately." I said.

"Seems to work like that." he said back dryly.

"You have no idea." I said, thinking instantly of the letter sitting undelivered in my bag. When Alice had called, I had avoided her questions about the letter and vowed to make a decision about telling her that I couldn't give her brother the letter yet.

I just couldn't. I was almost certain that the contents wouldn't be of a pleasing nature to a person of Edward's temperament, and I really didn't want to have to suffer his wrath.

And then there was the confusing desire to keep this job. I knew that I had accepted it because I wanted to irritate Edward for Alice, at least that was what I thought. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if that was really the reason. I was the sort of person who liked to have things verified in fact. Taking someone's word wasn't something I did well.

So if I needed proof for something, I always managed to get it, one way or another.

Edward was still gazing at my sidelong profile, seeming to find something of interest there.

"What are you looking at?"

"Your eyes." he said simply.

"What about them?" I said nervously. I self-consciously brought my hand to my temple.

"They're very… thoughtful."

"What were you expecting?" I declared hotly. If he thought all girls were just dumb blondes who had it coming, then he was wrong.

"I don't know." He said defensively. "Maybe angry? Or plotting. You seem to do that a lot." His tone of voice was icy.

"Plotting? That's a new one." I said.

"Really? So you're just a plotter with me?" he said.

"Oh shut up!" I countered.

"What the hell is your problem?" he shouted. I crossed my arms across my chest.

"What exactly are you referring to?"  
"That you forced my psycho ex on me for a whole freaking day!" he shouted.

"Then fire me!" I yelled.

"I can't do that!" he shouted back.

"Why not?" I roared.

"Because I think that I like you a little!" he blurted. I blinked rapidly as I leaned back in shock.

"Wait… what?" I sputtered.

"Forget it." he said. A scowl was plastered across his face and he was scowling at his hands. I wanted desperately for him to explain himself, but my pride was too great to let me ask questions.

"So that's all you're going to say?" I demanded. He continued scowling.

I rose to my feet angrily and turned to go.

"Wait!" he called. I paused and turned back again.

"What is it Mr. Cullen?" I said slowly. He paused for a moment, his face illuminated in moonlight, and looked up at me. His scowl was gone, replaced by his usual look of blankness.

"Call me Edward." His simple answer was accompanied by a tiny half smile that took my breath away. As I tried to remember how to breath, I delivered my coy response.

"No guarantees." I turned around again and walked back over to the door and moved my shoes from their resting place as I opened the door. I grabbed a brick from the ground beside the door and propped the door open again so I wouldn't lock him outside. I took a single step through before I paused and turned back to him.

"And one more thing." I said slowly.

"What now?" he muttered dryly. I took another step inside.

"Call me Bella." Was the last thing I said before I turned and jogged down the stairs.

**Okay so not my best, but review anyway. Cause they make me happy. Did I ever tell you guys that I don't deserve you? Cause I don't. You guys seriously rock. 40+ reviews for two chapters? I love you all.**

**oOo**

**Luvntwilight**: I love kick bells too, she needs to get a personality!

**Luckygrl27**: VERBAL BASHING WARS! It has a title now! EPIC! My family thinks I'm insane too. One time my brother introduced me to someone as "My psycho writer sister who is writing two books and is probably failing English in the process." Ah Family.

**Crazily Sane Pancake**: Whoa. What is it with Twlighters and breakfast foods? I mean, toxic waffle, Sane Pancake... what's next? Crazy Benign Flap Jacks? Anyway thanks and I loved the word Omajeez, it made me smile!

**Ksangi**: NOBODY DOES! And congrats again! And I'm sorry I screwed up NY for you! :)

**Toxic Waffle: **to my friend I was totally just like "How awesome is the name Toxic Waffle?" and she's like "WTF?" and I'm like "Yeah. You should be jealous." and she looked at me like I was a psycho. YAY!


	4. Endless

**Chapter Four**

**Hey here you go! It's going to be a bit before I update again, so bear with me. **

**Here's a little insight into Edward and Alice's world, and you get to see how well Alice and Bella know each other, but also about their problems. It's complicated.**

**And thanks to Ksangi for the help with taxis! Heart you darlin!**

**:Endless:**

As I stepped out of the elevator on the first floor, I heard a familiar noise.

_Ring ring ring, ring ring ring, ring ring ring. _My cell phone was ringing, and I had no doubt as to whom it was that was calling me.

The caller id betrayed him; Mike was calling me again. I paused for a moment, staring at the blaring screen before I sighed and flipped it open.

"What Mike?" I sighed.

"Bella thank god! I've been calling you all day!" he breathed.

"Yeah. I know Mike. I just turned my phone off." I said.

"Oh my god Bella, just listen to me. Don't hang up okay? Look Bells, come back to the firm! I miss you! Please!"

"Save it Mike. I don't want and damn thing you've got to offer me." I spat as I walked past the golden card readers. My heels made loud clack noises that echoed around the spacious lobby. But so did my cell phone as I slammed it shut.

As I slammed it into my purse, I heard another set of footsteps echoing behind me. I looked up for a moment in confusion. I had stayed _really _late today, and the building was supposed to be mostly empty. I turned around, only to nearly run into Emmett _again. _

"Oh!" I chirped, like an idiot of course. I was still mentally cursing myself for my stupid reaction when he opened his mouth and started talking to me like an old chum.

"Bella! I hear you stuck it to my brother, nice to hear!" he laughed. He kept walking and I started forward, trying to keep up with him.

"Wait… brother?" I stuttered.

"Oh yeah. Eddie and I go way back. Birthday parties, weddings, getting adopted together, you know. The works."

"Oh! So you're _the _Emmett!" I gasped, mentally cursing myself again for my stupidity. How many times had Alice mentioned her goofy older brother? I had never seen him, but he was a legend in Alice's mind.

"Yup." He laughed.

"So, you take a taxi home?" I said slowly. The building had a garage, and I assumed an executive like Emmett would have a car, and a fancy one at that.

"Well it's in the shop actually." He explained. "And Edward won't share his car and Rosalie is staying at work for most of the evening and I'm exhausted."

"Oh." Was my somewhat anticlimactic response.

"Say, I couldn't help overhearing, well I probably could have but I was really curious, but are you being phone stalked?" he said quickly. I laughed as we pushed through the revolving doors and out the door.

"Sort of. My ex partner slash ex boyfriend keeps calling me. I just usually ignore them, but I was feeling sort of irritated at the time and it's a good way to vent my rage." My answer mixed in with Emmett's booming laugh. We paused outside the building.

"Taxi!" Emmett yelled, and none stopped. He turned back to me.

"Yelling at people is indeed a good way to vent your anger. I yell at Edward all the time!" he said cheerfully.

I really wished Emmett would stop mentioning Edward, it was making me think _way _to much about him. His statement on the roof took me a little off guard, and I didn't understand why he said it.

"_Because I think that I like you a little!" _It echoed around my head like voices in a cathedral.

"Taxi!" yelled Emmett again. I laughed as the taxis again went by him.

"Taxi!" he yelled again. He threw me an exasperated look so, deciding to be divine, I took a step forward and raised my hand in the air.

"TAXI!" I yelled. Instantly a cab nearby stopped. I turned to Emmett who was looking at me with a slightly awed expression on his face. I threw him a triumphant smile and signaled for him to get in.

"Thanks Bella. Remind me to figure out what Edward has against you, I like you a lot!"

"Tell that to him!" I called after him as he jumped into the waiting cab. He threw me a parting smile as the cab drove away. I smiled to myself as I got another cab and jumped him.

Fifteen minutes later it had stopped and I had got out, gone up the elevator and stepped into our flat. It was unusually dark and I surmised that Alice wasn't here, which could only mean one thing; Alice was out partying again.

Just then the phone rang. I reached for it and hit the call button.

"Hello?" I said. I was answered by a few seconds of the sound of blaring music and laughing people before Alice's slurred voice greeted me on the line.

"Bella?" she said. I sighed.

"Yes Alice?"

"Do we have any duct tape?" She slurred.

"What?"

"Duct tape!" she yelled into the phone.

"Alice how much have you had to drink?" I sighed tiredly. I didn't want to deal with this.

"Who cares Bella? I need some duct tape! Wanna know why? 'Cause I broke the heel of my shoe, that's why." She mumbled.

"Alice where are you?"

"I'm at the club on…. Uh… It's that club with the blue sign and the big disco ball. And the bouncer who knows my name. Why? Do you want me to drive home? 'Cause I tooootally can." Her words came out odd and lopsided, like she had a straw in her mouth in fact.

"No Alice." I said firmly. "God help us if you drive."

"No I can!" she insisted.

"No Alice! Don't go anywhere. I'm coming to get you. _Don't_ step foot near your Porshe, you'd be so upset if you wrecked it, worse you could kill someone." I said.

"I CAN!" she insisted.

"Alice, friends don't let friends drive drunk. And I'd hardly call your party-buddies friends." I snapped, grabbing my hat again. I was angry that I had to go out again, I was tired and I hadn't intended to stay out this late.

"Are you coming here Bella? Oh goodie!" she slurred. There was a scratching noise and someone yelled

"Shit! You dropped it!" before the line went dead. I pulled my shoes on and dashed out the door. The lift was taking too long, so in my impatience I abandoned it and sprinted down the stairs.

By the time I reached to bottom I was out of breath, but I didn't stop running until I had hailed a cab and dashed into it.

The drive there was tense, and the driver had enough sense not to talk to me. We pulled up wordlessly and I shoved the money at him like it was causing me physical pain to hold it.

I stepped out and approached to big doors. I could see Alice's canary yellow Porsche parked around the corner. The bouncer outside the door took one look at me and opened them for me.

"Thanks Tony." I said tiredly.

"Here for Alice?" he called after me.

"Yup." I called back as he shut the doors. The club was the same as it always was, tacky and light up by too many colored lights.

I found Alice where she always was, sitting at a high table with a straw in her mouth coming out of an unnaturally colorful drink.

"Bella!' she screeched, throwing her arms around me as I marched forward. I gripped her shoulders and pulled her from her high stool. Her new 'friends' sitting around her whined in protest as I started walking away with her. I ignored them and focused on helping Alice walk in a broken high heel as she slumped over my shoulder.

"Bella, is that you?" she said in my ear, and her voice sounded a little less squeaky and high pitched and much more… hungover.

"Yeah Alice. Help me out here. For such a little pixie, you sure are hard to drag." I said back. It was a poor attempt at humor, but I was trying very hard to distract myself from her breath -which smelled like Vodka- as she muttered incoherent phrases.

As we trekked out of the club and out the doors, Alice became less and less vocal and eventually stopped muttering all together. We reached the Porsche and I reached into Alice's purse and fished out the keys. I jammed them into the door and helped Alice in.

I was extremely grateful that she hadn't lost them as I thought about the time I had to root around the club floor hunting for them as Alice lay passed out on the hood.

The car started with a purr, which didn't even make Alice stir.

We drove home in total silence broken by Alice's occasion odd mutter. I always liked to note the bizarre things that she said. Tonight's best were 'What floor is this?' and also "Paper or plastic 'mam?" and my personal favorite 'Well you're just a gender confused pineapple!'.

Of course those were the only humorous things I could find about Alice's situation. At least every other week Alice would go out to a club, get drunk, and I would have to go get her so that she wouldn't drive home or worse- not come home at all.

I was her friend and we were practically sisters, but Alice could be so impulsive and reckless that it was constantly putting a strain on our relationship.

Just then, Alice muttered her signature drunk-pixie phrase,

"Carlisle! Esme! I'm so sorry!" before she relaxed back in her seat and was once again silent.

As far as I could tell, Alice had done something to hurt her adoptive parents. She had a huge argument with Edward at Esme's birthday party, which ended up with Alice throwing the cake at Edward after he called her a whore. Edward stormed out after Esme had tried to calm him down. Esme and Carlisle were furious at them.

They were very upset at the two because they had been so close as children, but as they grew older they grew more and more bitter towards each other. The birthday party incident (or the BPI as Alice called it) had been the turning point in their relationship. Esme and Carlisle wouldn't invite them anywhere together until they worked it out.

I had known Alice for two years already when it happened and she came to me in tears. The two didn't speak to each other for two months and in the end, it was me who persuaded Alice to be the bigger of the two and try to talk to him.

Edward said some unmentionable things to her and it ended with her walking out of his office in anger.

She vowed never to talk to him again, and the next night, Alice got drunk for the first time. It didn't take an idiot to figure out that Alice was trying to party her family problems away. I didn't know how Edward was dealing with it, but I suspected it had to do with work, because the next month Edward got his first promotion and started his very successful career.

That was two years ago though, and since then Alice and I had moved in, Alice had met Jasper, her longtime boyfriend now, and gotten a job at a textile company where she worked freelance designing fabric.

We pulled into the garage of our flat and I parked Alice's Porsche. Again, I helped her out as she stumbled and tripped in her state of semi-consciousness.

We made it to the lift, and Alice groaned at the clatter it made but I wasn't about to try and get her up the stairs.

Finally, we got to our door and I pushed it open and dragged Alice inside. I pulled her to her bed, plopped her down, took off her broken Jimmy Choos and switched off the light like a mother saying goodnight to her child. Except I was the roommate bringing her 24 year-old drunk friend home instead of a mother and child.

I went to my own room and got ready for bed. After I was washed and changed, I sank gratefully down on my soft blanket and pulled to covers up.

It had been a hell of a day, and before I fell asleep, a single thought ran through my head.

_I have another one coming tomorrow._

And then the world went dark as I sank gratefully into dreams.

**Okay so I bet you all didn't really see the party pixie thing coming did you? But I have a plan! A master plan! – devilish laugh-. Okay… I finished this at 1:01 in the morning, so I blame this AN on the hour. **

**Oh boy that was hard to write, but I think it turned out okay. You tell me : ). Can we try for ten reviews? I love you all!**

**oOo**

**Mrs.Inventive Cullen:** Aww! Well thanks a lot! I'm glad it wasn't too blunt, and actually, you used my favorite adjective. Blunt. Isn't it just fun? Everyone say it now!

**asyouwish16: **Exactly! You picked it up right away, clever boots! Ideas? I dunno, I just look for things that aren't cliché I suppose. It usually just flows from there! Then of course I always have motivation behind my actions, and I try to make it believable.

**Blackbloodcat: **I agree completely! I would stare at Edward for all of eternity. And beyond. Hehe.


	5. Flawless?

**Chapter Five**

**Hullo! So guess what? I lied about being gone for a while, I'm totally here! And for those of you asking about the letter, I have one thing to say: wait for it. It's coming I promise! I'll be dealing with it later. I know I haven't acknowledged it yet but I know what I'm doing! REALLY! But Violet had a plan, an unstoppable plan. SATINE! That's a Moulin Rouge reference actually, but I digress.**

**Here's what's coming this chapter: **

**Emmett gets punchy. **

**There is a new color invented! YAY!**

**But now, it **_**really **_**will be a while until I update, because I'm going to Mexico.**

**Shit. Possibly the longest A/N yet. Oh well. I'm a chatty person. Love me anyways.**

**oOo**

**:Flawless?:**

My alarm clock's blaring tone woke me, and I stumbled out of bed in a daze. I hardly realized what I was doing as I dressed out of habit and drank a cup of coffee.

It wasn't until I heard a bang coming from Alice's room that I remembered exactly what I was preparing for.

I sighed to myself and took another long sip of coffee before I set it down and walked over. I knocked softly on her door.

"Alice?" I called. I could hear another bang coming from inside.

"Bella?" she called back. I took that as an invitation to enter and immediately wished I hadn't. Alice was sitting on the floor, wearing her favorite bathrobe and Ugg slippers, surrounded completely by such a mess that I was sure a bomb had gone off.

What looked like all of Alice's extensive shoe collection was strewn across the room. It was a mess of size six pumps, wedges, stilettos, sling backs, kitten heels, high heels, low heels, sandals, flats and any other type of shoe you could think of thrown haphazardly across the floor.

The crème colored rug was completely covered with them and only traces of the soft material could be seen through the wreckage. Alice sat in the middle, a notebook in one hand and an espresso in the other, and looked up at me expectantly.

"Um… Alice, what are you doing?" I said slowly.

"Well I'm taking inventory. Duh Bella." She said briskly. Her movements were fast and precise as she worked at placing her shoes in two piles: one for marked and one for unmarked. It looked like she was just an extraordinarily busy person, but I could see the dark circles under her eyes and the way she flinched when I spoke. She was hungover as hell, and was trying not to let me see.

Alice liked to be productive when she was hiding something, which in my opinion contributed to her enormous success she had in the textile business. Alice was usually feeling guilty for something.

"Alice-" I sighed.

"Look Bella, I finally got _all_ my shoes down! I had to pull the last boxes down from my shelves, and my hiking books and winter boots made a loud noise as they hit the ground, but other than that-" she cut me off, averting her gaze as she stared proudly at the mess around her.

"Alice, I-" I started to try again.

"it seems to be going very well! I think next I'll start on my fall lineup and of course that'll take forever and wading through all that burgundy will be a pain but-"

"Alice!" I cried out again.

"sometimes you just have to grin and bear it, right? Right. But then again I could start on my spring set instead, but that would be too many sandals. You know how excited I get when the spring sales come on and sometimes I forget that spring in New York is actually still cold. But then again-"

"Alice! Look at me!" I barked. She looked up slowly at me, as if she thought my gaze was going to be angry.

"Yes?" she said quietly.

"Alice, you've got to stop partying." I said, pushing a pile of shoes off of her bed as I sat down.

"I know Bella. Really I do." She said shamefacedly.

"I believe you Alice, but are you going to follow through?" I pressed.

"I will. I don't want to make you do this any more. I don't. You've done so much for me here, that I want to do something in return."

"Alice, if you think that doing something nice for me is the same as-" I started.

"No! It does both! It's nice, and it'll keep me from partying! Or… at least driving anywhere myself." She cut me off and intrigued me in one sentence.

"How?" I said cautiously.

"Here's my plan, I want you to-" she started, when I happened to glance down at my watch.

"Shit! Alice, tell me later okay? I'm going to be late!" I cried, jumping up from the bed and opening the door.

"Oh, wait. Where are you going?" said Alice. Her face showed her shock as she finally understood why I was dressed so early in the morning and why I was wearing heels and full makeup.

"Um well, long story, but basically… I ended up taking that job." As I blurted out the last part, feeling a little guilty myself. Alice's face was a mixture of shock, anger but mostly blatant disbelief.

"You…_took _it?" she said. I glanced down again at my watch and shifted my weight from foot to foot anxiously.

"Look Alice, I'll tell you about it later. I have to go and damn if I'm late again…" I muttered. Alice's face lit up and she opened her mouth to say something but I waved my hands in discontent.

"No, no, no Alice, I'll talk with you later." I said roughly as I opened the door and started walking out.

"Bye Bella!" Alice called as I shut the door.  
**oOo**

I raced out of the door of our apartment building, ignoring the grumbles from Mrs. Finch, who seemed to be hungover again.

I hailed a cab and sat for the rest of the ride in silence until it stopped and I launched myself out and made a beeline for the door. As I raced inside and stuck my key card in the gate, but it didn't open fast enough, so I pushed on the top of the gate and hopped over.

Of course, jumping the gate didn't make the elevators open any faster, and I was forced to sit anxiously for a time until it opened.

I pushed myself in and pushed the close-door button several times more than necessary.

The elevator music didn't soothe me, as it was no doubt intended to, but instead made me irritated. Questions raced through my head.

_Who composes this kind of music?_

_Why do elevators even need music? _

_Isn't it just wasteful?_

_Furthermore, can you waste music?_

_Why isn't it helping me calm down?_

_Why do I need calming down?_

_Why am I nervous? _

_That's a good question. _

I gave myself a light pinch to calm down. Edward Cullen was a lot of things, but he certainly _wasn't _scary.

I laughed to myself and forced myself to calm down as the elevators opened and I marched out with renewed confidence. I marched up to Edward's office and paused outside to take a cleansing breath when I heard a _huge_ bang.

"Whoa!" came a roar from the inside.

I pushed the door open with a bang and stopped short. In front of me was Emmett Cullen, sprawled across the floor. His eyes were rolling around in his sockets oddly and his arms were slouched at odd positions around him, but he seemed okay otherwise.

I looked up to see what had caused him to fall only to gaze upon a very angry looking Edward. His shirt was open slightly and his tie was gone again. His clenched fists were hanging at his sides and if looks could kill, there would be an Emmett sized hole in the wall. He looked up at me, and he looked _more _angry than before.

I shut the door out of habit, and stared at Edward, open mouthed.

"Oh, speak of the devil and the devil shall walk in!" garbled Emmett on the floor.

"Oh _great! _Now YOU'RE here!" Edward shouted. He then grabbed his tie, which was sitting on my desk, and stormed into his office. He shut his door with a bang that hung in the air poignantly. I turned to Emmett who was laughing on the floor.

I sank down on my haunches and looked at Emmett, trying to sit up.

"Oh Emmett, what did you_ do_?" I said as I tried vainly to help him up.

"Well I told Edward you were being phone stalked and-" he started.

"Emmett you didn't!" I moaned.

"I did!" he giggled. I had a feeling that Emmett wasn't quite himself from the impact.

"Why?" I said.

"Because it was funny to see his face turn purple! It was a new shade. Like egg-plant mixed with violet. We can call it… erm, eggvlantolet. Hahaha!" he laughed.

"And so he pushed you into a wall?" I said disbelievingly.

"Well I might have said some other things too! But I forget what. I think I might have teased him about something a little."

"A _little_?" I said even more incredulously.

"Maybe a lot!" Emmett laughed again, sitting up slightly.

"About what!?" I demanded quickly.

"I don't remember exactly…. I think it might have been about you though. He got a little angry when I said that he liked you!" he laughed.

I felt my stomach fall into my digestive tract. Now Emmett thought that Edward liked me? _What was wrong with this world?_

Just as I was about to ask him _exactly _what Emmett had said, the door burst open and Rosalie came in. She looked at me, then at Emmett, then at Edward's door.

"Oh god dammit. He did it again!" she said in a low voice.

"Rose! I invented a color! Eggvlantolet! Isn't it amazing!" babbled Emmett. Rosalie slapped a hand to her face before marching to Edward's door. I let go of Emmett and raced after her.

Rosalie didn't seem concerned that I followed her, in fact, she held the door open for me as if she were encouraging it.

Edward was sitting at his desk, glaring at a document in front of him. Rosalie charged forward at full speed. However I hung back, not sure of myself in this argument.

"Edward Cullen what did you do to my husband?" Rosalie spat.

_Husband? Jeesh were all these people related somehow? It was a regular mom and pop operation! _I thought to myself.

"Hello to you too sis." Said Edward dryly.

"_Sister in law_!" she spat.

_Or not. _I concluded.

"Rose, really I'm-" he started, but Rosalie wasn't hearing it.

"A dead man? I agree!" She spat. Edward leaned back in his seat in alarm.

"Rosalie, really-" he started again.

"Look Edward, you're out of control. What is it with you? When we call you, you lash out at us on the phone. When we try to talk to you in person, you throw us into fucking walls! What is it with you? You haven't spoken to Alice in god knows how long, Carlisle keeps trying to talk to you, but you ignore his calls, Esme is mad at you and also worried sick! What is your problem? Are you trying to destroy our family?" She cried. Her tone was angry but her eyes were hurt, and I could see that Rosalie was genuinely concerned for her brother.

"Rosalie, I don't have a problem! I just don't want to be involved with them right now." He said, and I could see his angry front coming on.

It was bizarre watching this fight take place, I was used to being on the receiving end of Edward's anger, and watching it was a different experience.

I could see the way Edward leaned forward in his chair angrily, and the way his green eyes lit up like emerald fire, but I was used to seeing that. For the first time I was able to notice the way Edward's arms stayed crossed in front of him like some sort of shield from the verbal truths that Rosalie was slinging at him.

I could see the way he sat up straighter and the way he clenched his fists when Rosalie spoke. He was defensive.

"Don't want to be involved with them?" Rosalie quoted, disbelief and anger in her voice.

"That's rather difficult seeing as you work with two of '_them_'." she said.

Edward stood up angrily, but Rosalie didn't stop.

"What are you afraid of Edward?" she shouted. That did it.

Edward pushed his chair back and marched out of his office, grabbing his coat as he opened the office door and marched out.

Rosalie sat down in the chair in front of his desk and promptly started crying silent tears. I walked slowly up to her and put a tentative hand on her shoulder. She let out a cry of surprise and looked up at me and then started crying again.

"Mrs. Hale, are you… okay?" I said slowly. I would have felt awkward if it weren't for the fact that my heart swelled with pity for poor Mrs. Hale. Alice wasn't the only one who was stressed by the family drama, Rosalie Hale was just as traumatized.

"No!" she wailed sharply. Emmett then burst in and wrapped Rosalie in a tender hug as she clung to him like a drowning woman in a storm.

I didn't know at the time just how strong Rosalie Hale truly was. I also didn't know that was the last time she would ever show her weakness to me. She was just as tough as her brother in law.

I left the room quietly, as Emmett seemed to have recovered and they were sharing a personal moment. As I sunk down in the receptionist's- or my- desk chair, I made a snap decision.

Edward Cullen shouldn't do this to people. Someone had to track him down and teach him a lesson, and I sure as hell wasn't going to wait around for someone else to do it.

**There. Happy I wrote that. Are these too long for you guys? I can't help it though, I get to writing, and **_**poof, **_**five pages of 12 pt font just materialize in front of me! **

**Anyway, you guys really came through with reviews, can we try for fifteen this time? Thankies!**

**One more thing (Don't you hate me?) There's a poll on my page, can you vote on it please? I love you all! –hands out cookies- Later!**

**oOo**

**guardedwithanangel**: Candy? More like creme freaking brule! It's yummy tasmic :) I'd rather fanfic than... go to paris. Yeeeeaaaah. This is another one of those late night updates, can you tell?

**mayalucille**: Okay, when you said Alice was Bella's foil, you totally made me scream. That's what I was going for and you even used my favorite nerdy writer term! OMG Maya, you may just be my soul mate!

**blackbloodcat**: Another thing that Fanfic-ers do. We're up at odd hours. For instance, I've really got to go to sleep. Grrr, damn you all for being so awesome that I feel bad if I don't update!


	6. Fearless

**Chapter Six**

**Hullo thar! It's going to be another little bit (but a shorter one) before I update. **

**Heads up.**

**Oh, and one very observant reader noted that Rosalie (since she's married to Emmett) should be named Rosalie Cullen, not Hale. But I thought that since Rosalie is such a strong character here, she'd want to keep her individuality by using her last name. If you don't get it... go with me. It all makes sense in my head. **

**(Oh if I had a nickel for every time I said that.)**

**oOo**

**The playlist: I Write Sins Not Tragedies, P!ATD.**

**oOo**

**:Fearless:**

I didn't really know where I was going, but I was going, and that was the important thing here. Rage fueled my actions as I charged down the hallway towards the receptionist's desk.

Who did Edward think he was? How dare he be nice to me on the roof and then kill it all by pushing Emmett into a wall and on top of that making Rosalie cry? What kind of person does something like that?

But all my questions got me nowhere. I knew that Edward was selfish, vain, and mean, but he had confused me with his random show of niceness.

I knew what Alice would say.

"Stay away from him Bells. He's done nothing good for anyone." And then she'd sigh loudly and look away. But then, I had already betrayed my friend slightly by taking this job, and then there was the small matter that Alice's letter was still lying in the bottom of my purse untouched.

But how could I give it to him? I knew it would offend him, and then I would surely lose my job by association. I knew that that shouldn't bother me, I mean, I hated him, right? But with all that aside, he was just so enigmatic and puzzling that my inquisitive nature got the best of me. I needed to know for sure just how dangerous Edward Cullen was before I could truly leave him alone.

I knew it could only end badly, and my masochistic desire to always prove things to myself would be my eventual downfall. It always was.

I didn't believe them when they told me that Mike was cheating, I knew I couldn't until I had seen it for myself, so I did, and it only lead to heartache. Yet I just couldn't bring myself to give it to him.

Even though he was such a jerk that I wanted to _spit, _I knew that I had to stick with this. I had something to prove. I didn't know what, or to whom, or even if it was just to myself, but I just _couldn't_ believe Alice. I had to figure it out.

I stopped before I reached the desk and looked down into my purse just to make sure that the ivory envelope was still there. A part of me hoped it wasn't, so I wouldn't have to deliver it, but I pretended I didn't feel that way.

The letter was still there, and I was both soothed and disappointed by it. I kept walking towards Jessica, now at her desk.

"Where did he go?" I said tersely. She blinked a few times.

"Where did who go?" she said dumbly.

"Edward Cullen, the one who charged out of here like a bat out of hell." I said impatiently.

"Oh… well let's see…" she started, tapping a manicured nail against her chin.

"Don't play dumb, of course you noticed him." I snapped. "Or were you too busy staring at his butt to notice what floor he went to?" I slightly regretted my harsh words, but stopped feeling guilty at her bitchy response.

"What? Are you looking to go make out with him on the roof again?" she spat. I gasped. How had she known about the roof? Not like we'd made out, but she knew we were on the roof together?

Suddenly I knew. Edward had told her. Who else could have? Were all men the same?

"Making out of the roof?" I said coldly. "I think you're mistaken. The only thing that happened on the roof was Edward being his usual jerk-off self. And you can tell all your little buddies that he is the most _arrogant, rude, spiteful _man that I've ever met. Now kindly tell me what floor he went to." I hissed. She leaned back in her chair with a sneer on her face.

"Fine. He went down to the first floor. Now don't talk to me." She hissed. I threw her a sarcastic smile and marched over to the elevator.

**oOo**

I stood on the curb for a moment, pondering my various places to go. I knew I had no idea on Earth where I should go. It seemed stupid to me now, trying to find him. I hadn't even known him for a week, and he hadn't done much talking to me.

I settled for marching around to various cafés and coffee shops in the area, thinking maybe he'd gone out for something to eat. No luck.

So then I tried a few music stores, because I remembered that he liked music and had a huge collection in his office, but I couldn't find him there either.

So as a last resort, I went to the music section of the library. I looked around for a bit, but I wasn't expecting anything. A guy like Edward surely wouldn't be found in a _library _of all places. When I was resigned to the fact that I _wasn't _going to find him in here, I decided to make a quick detour before I headed back to the office.

I headed over to the classical section and looked for the Ds. I was searching for Debussy, because I needed the calm feelings that it evoked in me.

Renee had been a good mother to me, perhaps a bit eccentric, but a wonderful parent. She went through her various fads of interest, and my favorite was definitely her musical phase. She liked the odder sorts of instruments, like samisens and tambourines, but she had also gone to the music store and picked out a bunch of classical music. My favorite of which, was Clair de Lune by Debussy.

Of course she soon lost interest and moved onto other hobbies, but I loved the CD, and even though I couldn't take it from Renee's house, I'd borrowed it from the library countless times. The CD had gotten me through some tough times.

When Charlie and Renee had been fighting, the CD was my only friend in the night. I would lie in the dark and listen to it under my covers as I pretended that I couldn't hear them arguing downstairs.

When Renee and I finally left Forks and went to the least Forks-y-ish place on the planet, New York, it was the CD I listened to on to ride from Washington to New York City.

When we rented an apartment, it was the music I listened to as we unpacked.

When I broke up with Mike, it was the song I cried to.

Needless to say, it held a lot of emotional baggage for me, and I had avoided it since then. But now that I was having this much trouble at my job, perhaps it was time to use its soothing powers once again.

I stared at the CDs on the rack as I searched for the familiar blue case with white font. I finally found it, and as I reached for it, I looked up, and to my shock, I found Edward.

He was staring at me, open mouthed, as he leaned over the rack of classical music. His hand was outstretched to the exact spot where my hand was, _like he was reaching for the same CD. _

"Bella?" he blurted.

"Mr. Cullen?" I blurted back.

"_Classical music?_" I said sarcastically.

"_Debussy?_" he said hotly. There was a silence for a moment before I delivered my quiet response.

"Clair de Lune?" I said shyly. My voice was timid surprise instead of angry and mocking. I didn't know exactly how he would respond, but maybe… we had something in common.

"It's your favorite too?" he said quietly, and I didn't think it was because we were in a library.

"Yeah."

"Did you… want it?" I said slowly as I looked up into his eyes and held it out for him to take. His eyes were deep and pensive and he seemed to be scrutinizing me, but he didn't extend his arm except to motion to me that I should keep it.

"Are you sure?"

"Completely." He said. There was another silence.

"What… what are you doing here?" he said. Then I remembered.

"Looking for you." My voice was ice and Edward noticed. He stiffened, and I was surprised to realize that I hadn't even noticed he'd relaxed.

"You didn't need to." He said coldly.

"Well I figured that I should have, seeing as you just threw your brother into a wall."

"He's also my co-worker."

"But isn't throwing a family member into a wall worse than throwing an associate into one?" I said bitingly. I pulled the CD close to my chest like I was trying to protect it from the argument it was witnessing. Hadn't it seen enough arguing in it's lifetime?

"You forget. I have no friends in my family." He said, his gaze was angry and distant now, a look that I recognized all too well.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Look, don't you have a life to go ruin somewhere?" he spat. I flinched at his stinging comment. Had I… _ruined his life? _No I hadn't. I'd known the guy for two days. If his life was that easily ruined I would have done it intentionally.

"Look, I'm sorry-" he started.

"Whatever Edward." I said coldly. "I don't care to hear your apologies."

"So if you're offended, the relationship is just screwed then?" he hissed.

"Are you finally acknowledging the fact that you've offended me?" I countered.

"Are you finally acknowledging the fact that you're a bitch?" he snapped. His eyes flashed in a way that I'd never seen before, was it… _regret? _No way.

"You are an absolute ass!" I said in a low snarl as I slammed the CD back into the music rack with a clang. Several people glanced irritably over at us. He glared right back at me before I charged out of the library and into a cab.

I told the driver to take me back to the office without thinking about it.

I wondered vaguely if I was fired as I got in the elevator.

**oOo**

For the rest of my day, I sat in the office working on the work he had left on my desk this morning. There were reports to edit and spell check, calls to make, subjects to research and then make reports on. It was typical secretary stuff, and it wasn't hard, but I couldn't focus on it.

Edward had been a jerk to me, and I did resent him immensely for it, but I'd never felt so… _hurt _by anything he'd said to me. And then the awful feeling in the pit of my stomach came back. The one I always got when we fought that made me feel sad and bitter. So for one whole day, I sat, working mindlessly as I waited for Edward to return.

It wasn't until seven thirty that he finally did. I was packing up to leave, assuming he had just taken the day off, and left at a normal time.

Yesterday I had left later than I'd wanted to because I wanted to hear the end of the argument between Tanya and Edward, but today I could go home a reasonable hour.

So I grabbed my purse and my coat and prepared to leave. My hand was on the door when it turned from under me. I wrenched my hand back in surprise and took a few steps back as the door opened and Edward walked in.

"Bella!" he gasped.

"Oh, uh… hello." I stuttered. He looked taken aback at having to face me so up close and personal. His face was shocked and he was wearing his work clothes, but they were loosened like he hadn't changed, but adapted his work clothes for some recreational activity.

I stood there in surprise for a moment, before I remembered that I hated him with a burning passion.

"Oh. It's you." I spat. At that moment, he seemed to remember something else and his face changed into a slight grimace.

"Hello Bella."

"Look, can you just move so that I can leave?"

"No. Not until I say something."

"Then just say it."

"Calling you a bitch was wrong." He blurted. I took a step back, for once not in revulsion but in complete and utter shock.

"So… you're sorry?" I said.

"Things got out of hand. This is… my apology." He said.

He held out his hand and in it was a CD, Debussy.

_He got me Debussy? _I was so surprised at his thoughtfulness that with out thinking, I took the CD gingerly from his hands and examined it. It was the exact same CD that I'd checked out so many times in the library. All intact and with the same colored case and everything. Just seeing it made me feel nostalgic.

The gesture was so sweet and nice, that I was sure there was some ulterior motive behind it. People just weren't this thoughtful.

"You're tying to buy my forgiveness?" I said. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Look Bella, I know you're determined to think of me as the eternal bad guy, but I really do feel badly for calling you a…" he started.

"For calling me a bitch." I said coldly.

"Yes. For calling you a bitch." He continued.

"You should be." I said shortly.

"It was wrong." He said, but I didn't answer, but offered him the CD back. He didn't look amused and started talking again. "Bella you may not like me, but I'm _trying _here. I'm making an effort to apologize, and it doesn't help that you're being stubborn." He said. I looked down at the CD in my hands and pulled it close to my chest.

"Oh. Well then… I'm sorry I called you an ass." I said.

"Thank you." He said tensely. "But this doesn't mean we're suddenly friends or anything."

"I wouldn't want to be." I agreed.

"Naturally." He said. I took a side step around him and grabbed the door.

"Well then… good bye Mr. Cullen." I said.

"Goodbye miss Swan." He said. I turned and so did he as we both prepared to go to our respective places.

"Hey Mr. Cullen?" I said, pausing before I turned as a thought flitted through my head.

"Yes?" he said.

"Um, where exactly did you go for the rest of the day?"

"Why do you want to know?" he said suspiciously.

"I want to… understand you better. Seeing where you run to will help me. It will also help me the next time we fight, so that if I need to tell the police where you are, I'll know." I said. The last sentence was an after thought that I added in quickly.

"Oh. Well, if it's for the greater good….I went to the New York Observatory." He said. I was surprised. The New York observatory was a huge building near the edge of town where you could go. It was a public facility, and the entrance fee was small, but I'd never been there.

"And what were you observing?" I asked.

"The stars." He said simply.

"Sounds… interesting."

"It is. You'd like it, I think." He said mildly.

"I think I might like that too." I agreed.

"Good night Mr. Cullen." I said.

"Good night… Bella." He said, before he shut the door to his office.

**oOo**

The elevator doors opened, and I walked out with a bunch of other people all leaving for the day. My phone rang, and I answered it as I walked through the revolving doors.

"Hello?" I said tentatively.

"Bella? Why did you get a new job? I told you that you should come back to the firm!" wailed an annoying voice on the other end.

"God damit Mike! Why are you still calling me?" I spat.

"But Bella I _need _to talk to you! Why did you get a job for Edward Cullen? He's like, the firm's biggest rival!" he whined.

"How do you know where I work?" I demanded.

"Um…" he started, but I didn't wait for him to finish.

"Just leave me alone." I snarled.

"Bella we're fated to be together. You'll see that. I know you will." He said darkly, and I chose that moment to hang up.

**Guess what? I made up the New York Observatory. I have no idea if there is one, or even if I'm using the right word. **

**Can we try for fifteen reviews please? Love you!**

**-Vi**

**oOo**

**mayalucille****:** It was supposed to be sort of an exposee. Edward isn't in control of himself as much as he normally is when he's angry, and I used it :P. Oh yeah. Oh my god! YAY! I'm getting figuratively married! OMG! This is the happiest day of my life! –jumps up and down screaming like the secret fangirl she is- WHEE!

**jesusfreak917**: Thanks! I think it's funny to watch him overreact ;P

Edward-is-sexier-than-Mike: all in good time! But he'll get it. Promise.

**Jane(anonymous):** Well your wish is my command! Thanks for reading!

**Dollegirl:** when I logged onto my email this morning (for the first time in five days btw) yours was the first on a stack of 68 emails! I was happy to write this chapter simply to distract myself from reading them all. I have like… 20 new fanfic chapters to read. Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks again for reviewing!


	7. Darkness

**Chapter Seven**

**Hullo thar! Missed you all! **

**And WE BROKE THE 100 REVIEW BOUNDARY! Did you hear the explosion when we did? High fives and virtual cookies for everyone! Here's the longest chapter I've ever written as a reward. Eight pages. Damn.**

**PS. I had way too much fun writing this chapter. You'll see why. THE VERBAL BASHING WARS CONTINUE! **

**oOo**

**Playlist: Turn Off The Light, Nelly Furtato. (Really. Play this. Please.)**

**oOo**

After the driver dropped me off and I'd paid him, I walked back into the building. I stopped at our mailbox and grabbed the assortment of letters and bills collecting there and rifled through them as I rode up in the lift.

Bill.

Bill.

Spam.

Letter to Alice.

Postcard.

Letter to me.

I glanced down at the return address and saw that it was from Charlie.

_Charlie? _I wanted to tear it open, but the lift reached our floor so I walked in.

Alice wasn't at home, but it was too early for her to be partying, and she'd promised me she wouldn't, so I didn't worry about it.

I sank down at our table and opened the letter.

_Dear Bella,_

_How are you? It's been a while since we've talked, but I thought I'd drop you a line. You know how old fashioned I am, and I don't even have an email address, so a letter seemed better.But then email is so impersonal anyway. _

_What I'd love is a face-to-face chat with you. I miss you. Why don't you come visit me sometime? You'd love Forks now… well… I take that back. You'd hate it after New York. But I'd love for you to see it anyway. You were so little when you left. I'm terrible at writing letters. I don't even know what to say. I could tell you about the weather. It's rainy. But yesterday we got some sun. Harry and I went fishing. And the Yankees won. So that was good. Shoot. I've run out of things to talk about. Call me sometime will you kid? I miss your smiling face around here._

_-Charlie_

The letter was so heartwarmingly blundering and awkward that it almost brought tears to my eyes. I looked at the ceiling and let out a low breath. Alice chose that moment to walk in. Her arms were full of bags.

"Hey Bella! I got dinner, is Chinese okay?" she said.

"Yeah, sure." I said. Alice walked over and set the take out on the kitchen counter then plopped down next to me. She glanced down at the letter as I continued to stare at the ceiling in confusion.

I wondered why Charlie had picked now to send me a letter. We hadn't seen each other since a few Christmases ago, his timing was odd. Alice picked it up and stared at the signature at the end.

"Charlie?" she said disbelievingly.

"Yeah." I said. We both sat there for a minute staring down at it before Alice seemed to remember something and she started rooting around in her bag.

"Oh! Bella, I wanted to give you a little prezzy!" she giggled. I sighed again.

"Is it a handbag?" I said cautiously. She looked up and threw me a sarcastic glance.

"Better!!" she said, then promptly held out her car keys. "Take my Porsche!" she giggled. I sat there staring at the keys in her hand in shock.

"What?" I blurted dumbly.

"Take. My. Porsche." She repeated. She didn't let my apparently unenthusiastic demeanor nettle her, but instead seemed to enjoy my blatant disbelief.

"You want _me_, the lowly Bella, to drive the Porsche that you fawned over in Italy so much that you bought one when we got back and won't even let me touch because you're so paranoid that I'll break it somehow. I'm so shocked, I'm using run on sentences." I said.

"Well not to _keep_ silly!" she laughed. "It's until you're sure that I've gotten over my little… problem. So I don't drive. Get it? I can't drive to any clubs and I can't drive back either! It's genius!" she said. I continued to stare.

"Alice, you could just… take a taxi like a normal person." I said slowly.

"Ew." She said shortly. "Ever heard of GROSS?"

"Okay… what about the subway?" I said.

"Gross times two!"

"Bus?"

"Gross times three."

"WALKING?" I said loudly.

"Ever tried walking ten blocks in heels Bella?" she said dryly. "It's killer on your feet."

"So are you saying that the _only _way you'll go anywhere is in your Porsche?" I said.

"Yup." She said proudly. "Or in Jasper's car. Or yours…if you had one." She said.

"Wow Alice. I thought I knew what girly was, until today." I said. I reached out and grabbed the keys to her car and stuck them in my pocket.

"Just promise me something Bella." She said.

"I know, I know Alice. Don't scratch the paint, don't let anyone with a tattoo within twenty feet of it, don't leave it out in cold weather, make sure that any garage I park it in is heated, and finally, don't even drive it at all." I recited. She laughed.

"No Bella. Take it out for a drive at least once. _It's supposed to be a present._ Have some fun. Besides, I think you'll need the horse power to escape your stalker ex, who, by the way, is outside our building." She laughed.

"Shit." I muttered. I groaned and stood up. "I'll go get rid of him. Hey, do you still have that airsoft gun?" I inquired with a too innocent expression.

"Were you going to shoot him? Damn. Emmett borrowed it." she pouted. I laughed.

"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to kick him out the old fashioned way." I sighed.

**oOo**

Mike was right where Alice said he would be, pacing in front of the door to the building. I took a deep breath and pushed through the doors and out into the cold air.

I hadn't worn any winter gear to send a message. I was just out there to tell him to get the hell away, and then go back inside, not to negotiate.

"Bella!" he exclaimed. "I'm so glad you came-"

"Mike, get away from our building or I swear, I'll call the police." I spat. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"I have to tell you something about Edward Cullen-" he started. That caught my attentions.

"You know Edward?" I immediately regretted responding to something he said.

"He's dangerous! He's a player, he's just using you-" he said instantly.

"Oh shut up Mike. Look, leave me alone okay? Go tell everyone at the firm that I don't regret that iced latte down your shirt one bit." I spat.

He looked alarmed and reached out to grab my hand. I pulled back, but he got a hold of it and started pulling. I yanked back with all my might but he was stronger and I felt my feet being dragged unwillingly forwards.

I gave a huge tug with all my might and succeeded in pulling my hand free, but in the process my elbow banged against the bricks of the building. I felt warm blood seeping out slowly.

"Oh, I've hurt you." Mike observed dumbly.

"Damnit!" I said as I grabbed my elbow with my recently freed hand.

Mike used the distraction to grab my arm again, but now I was dangerously impaired. I decided to take a risk and used the heel of my foot to jab him in the shins.

"Ah!" he shouted as he let go of me and reached down to clutch at his leg. I backed up again and he looked up at me with a dangerous glint in his eye.

I felt a small shoot of panic flare up in my chest, but he sound of running footsteps distracted both of us.

Jasper, bless him, was running towards me.

"Hey!" he called as he reached us. "Get away from her." he growled protectively.

"Relax man." Said Mike with a casual arrogance that was unnerving.

"Yeah whatever. Just leave Bella alone." He said. Mike scoffed but backed up to the street and walked away, leaving his over-cologned scent behind him.

"Thanks Jasper." I said as I jammed my key into the lock.

"No problem Bella. Let's get you inside before that creeper comes back." He said.

I agreed whole-heartedly and walked back inside.

Alice was smiling at us when we walked inside but her smile abruptly faded when she saw our expressions.

"What happened? Oh god, Bella, your elbow!" she exclaimed.

"It's nothing." I said quickly.

"Hardly." Jasper scoffed. "Bella was attacked."

"WHAT?" Alice exclaimed.

"It's nothing!" I insisted. The last thing I needed was someone _else _worrying about me. I did enough of that myself.

"He just grabbed at me, and Jasper made him go away after I backed into a wall and banged my elbow up." I said. Alice didn't look convinced but she seemed to understand that I wanted her to drop it, so she did.

We spent an enjoyable evening as the three of us eating Chinese food and watching movies on demand. My elbow was fine, it just needed a few band-aids and some Neosporin. Just before Jasper left, he turned to me in private and thanked me for getting through to Alice.

"I can't tell you how worried I was for her. She would never tell me when she went out, and she always called you. It killed me that I couldn't do anything." he said. I assured him that it was nothing, and bid him good night. He and Alice were planning on going to get coffee but Jasper said it was a bad idea to leave me alone tonight.

I tried to convince them to go anyway, but Alice agreed with Jasper, so I was outvoted.

I went to bed early and fell asleep almost instantly.

**oOo**

The next morning as I was getting dressed, Alice walked in and handed me a blue blouse then sat down determinedly on my bed. I knew the face she was wearing.

It was her _Bella-I-know-what-I'm-doing-so-don't-even-object-to-anything-I-hand-you-because-you-know-I'm-right face_. I sighed and pulled off the shirt I was wearing and buttoned up the blouse. There was a tag still on the garment, but I was afraid to look at the price. Alice was a notorious over-spender.

I turned to the mirror, and as usual with anything that Alice bought, the garment looked amazing on me. It fit me just right and the color really brought out my eyes. It was slightly low cut for my taste, but I liked it anyway.

"Told you." She smirked.

"You didn't say anything." I said.

"You knew I was right though. It looks amazing on you. But … I need you to explain something." She said. Her tone was abruptly solemn.

"Yeah?" I said.

"_Why_ did you take that job?" she said.

"Oh." I said. "Well… because I needed a job, and it paid well, and… I don't know." I said lamely. I hadn't given much thought to what I was going to say to Alice and I was seriously regretting it now.

"So… you got a job with _my brother?_ Yoo hoo! Are you out of your mind?" she said.

"Well… one thing lead to another… look Alice, please just run with me on this one. I think I can make it work." I said.

"So… did you give him the letter?" she asked after a brief pause.

"Um… not exactly."

"So he has no idea?" she said. I shook my head no.

"Do they even know that we're related?" she demanded.  
"No." I said, expecting anger.

"Good." She said. I was surprised.

"Good?"

"Good. If they knew that you were any way associated with me, then you'd be the object of so much… anger and spite. I don't want you to feel that. Edward's too much of a coward to face me himself, he'd take his anger out on you." She said.

"Edward isn't-" I said, then clapped a hand to my lips in shock.

"He isn't what?" whispered Alice.

"I don't know. He… he's sort of… confusing, your brother." I said.

"He's exactly who he appears Bella." She said coldly. "He's a mean, angry person."

"I don't know Alice. I'm sort of… confused lately."

"Well trust me on this one Bells." She said dryly. Then she stood and walked out.

But I the thing was: I didn't.

**oOo**

I arrived at the office on time today, and stepped out of the elevator. I enjoyed the envious glances from Lauren and Jessica as I marched by in my new blouse.

I walked into the office half expecting another dazed Emmett on the floor, but instead got a normal office.

I was sort of disappointed.

I walked to my chair hesitantly. Every second I'd been at this office had been dramatic, and to sit down normally without anything going on felt weird and abnormal.

I sat down.

Nothing happened.

And nothing did happen, that is until twelve thirty, when Edward called me into his office.

"Bella, can you go fetch me some coffee please?" he said as I walked in. I almost laughed.

"Um… no." I scoffed.

"Well why not?" he demanded with perhaps more anger in his voice than the situation called for.

"Because I won't 'fetch' anything for you." I laughed again.

Who did he think I was? His little slave?

"You're my secretary, aren't you obligated to if I ask you to?" he countered with a small smile.

"Am I obligated to jump off a cliff if you ask me?" I snapped.

"Would you like to find out?" he snapped back.

"Would you jump with me?"

"No, I'd push you." He sneered.

"If you're going to push me off a cliff, why the hell would I bring you coffee?" I yelled. Just before I said it, Rosalie made the rather badly timed decision to enter the office. I could just imagine what the last sentence had sounded like to her and we both stood still looking at her as we waited for her response.

"Do I want to know?" she said with a shocked expression on her face.

"No!" we both shouted.

Rosalie turned and left and I quickly followed her.

At two he called me in again. I had thought about it, and I made the decision that this time I wouldn't lose my temper.

"Bella come in here." He said.

"What?" I said in a strained, but friendly, voice.

"Take this, give it to Jessica." He said distractedly as he handed me a file. It seemed whatever he was working on had distracted him from seeking revenge for the previous argument we had earlier.

"Oh is that all Mr. Cullen?" I knew he was probably surprised at my normal response, but I had made a vow to not lose my temper at him, and I was hell bent on at least _trying_.

"I thought we were past the last names." He sighed.

_Oh, now he was nice._

"I can't call you Edward." I said bluntly.

"Why not?" he demanded. I was sorely tempted to ask him why he wanted me to, but I refrained.

"Because I want to keep this professional." I said.

"Why? Can't we be friends? I suppose you think you're too good for friends." He said.

"No! That isn't it at all. I can't be friends with you because you're… not a person that I can… be around." I said. I was rapidly failing in my attempt to stay calm and I knew my voice was harsher than I wanted, but he was just so _irritating!_

"Is that all? You aren't threatened by my looks and talent? You don't find me attractive?" he said with an arrogant twist of his wrist.

At that moment, any sort of restraint I put on myself fell away in protest. I was _not _going to take something like that lying down. Or standing up for that matter. In fact, I just wasn't going to take it at all.

"Oh I see, you want a _second_ reason!" I said with an expectant smirk.

"Yes, and I think you know what it is." He sneered.

"Alright, here it is! The second reason is that you are the most arrogant, irritating, rude man that I've _ever _met!" I yelled.

"Rude?" he demanded like it was some sort of shock to him.

"_Incredibly_." I countered.

"Says the woman insulting me with every word she can think of." He said.

"Truth is generally the best vindication against slander!" I quoted hotly.

"You're going to quote Abraham Lincoln to my face _while_ you insult me?" he said. He looked positively enraged, which gave me a sort of dark pleasure.

He was fun to irritate.

"Yes I am!"

"That's a low blow!" he said.

"I think Abe would understand." I sneered.

"Why are you so damn difficult?" he shouted.

"Why are you so damn pigheaded?" I shouted back.

"For gods sakes I just wanted you to deliver a memo!" he said, throwing his arms up in the air and slamming them down on the desk.

"THEN I'LL DELIVER IT AND GET THE HELL AWAY FROM YOU!" I roared.

Then I grabbed the memo, stormed out the door, out of Edward's office, and away from Edward Cullen.

**oOo**

By five, I had officially dubbed the day as a bad one.

I had been in two arguments with Edward before the day was even over, Alice didn't seem the least bit intent on reconciliation with her brother, and I had to deliver a memo to Jessica.

I was in a thoroughly put out mood.

But through it all, there was the same irritating feeling that I got whenever Edward and I fought. It kept creeping up in my stomach as I waited for the nightmarish day to FINALLY end. I thought that when I was getting ready to go home, I would feel better. I thought that the nasty feeling would go away.

It was supposed to right?

Isn't home your safe spot? Your sanctuary? Isn't the idea of escaping to home a good thought? Then why was this awful feeling not going away?

By four thirty I had figured out what the feeling was, and I shocked me.

It was guilt. I was feeling guilty for yelling at Edward. How was that possible?

So as I grabbed my scarf and stood to go, I suddenly knew that I couldn't end a day like this. I needed clearance.

So I set my bag down and turned to the door that lead to Edward's office.

I didn't knock, my pride wouldn't let me, but instead opened the door really slowly so I wouldn't feel like I was intruding.

Edward looked up at me with a sheepish expression in his eyes. He stood up abruptly like he was nervous and tense. His eyes were dark and unhappy and I swore they were a different shade than they had been earlier. He moved around to the front of his desk and sat down. I walked up to him tentatively but didn't sit.

"That got out of hand." he said quickly.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"We behaved like children didn't we?" he said.

"Yeah." I agreed. "Sorry."

"Me too." He said, extending his hand.

I don't know what it was about that simple gesture, but something about shaking his hand frightened me. It was like I was offered the chance to go cliff diving.

People did it all the time, and it wasn't really that dangerous, but it only looks fun from the base of the cliff. It isn't until you're up there, staring down the ledge that you realize you don't want to go swimming in dangerous waters.

Except it was a handshake and not an extreme sport.

I was blowing it way out of proportion and I knew it, but I _couldn't _bring myself to shake his hand.

"I can't shake your hand Edward." I blurted as I stared at his hand like it was going to explode.

"Why not?" he demanded angrily.

"Because I haven't accepted your apology." I blustered.

"You said you were sorry too." He countered unhappily.

"And I am, but I never said 'apology accepted', so I haven't _officially_ forgiven you." I said quickly. This argument was on a kindergarten level but I wasn't backing down now.

"That's not how it works. If you apologize too, then you've accepted the apology." He said gruffly.

"No way. You have to say 'I accept your apology' for it to count." I declared hotly.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because how can you know that you're forgiven if they don't say so?" I said.

"You assume." He sneered.

"What kind of a way to live is that? How do you know if they even like you?" I shouted.

I knew that we weren't really talking about ourselves now, and my impulsive desire to _fix _Edward Cullen was coming through, but I was in too deep now.

"You just know." He said.

"So you trust them?"

"No, you just chose your friends carefully." He yelled quickly.

"If I were your friend I wouldn't like to live like that." I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Are you my friend?" he asked skeptically.

"I didn't accept your apology did I?" I countered.

"But you did!" he yelled sharply. He stood up and leaned forward on his feet as he yelled into my face.

"YOU CAN'T MAKE FRIENDS THAT WAY EDWARD!" I shouted as I leaned forward too. We were dangerously close for two people with enough anger in their voices to put Stalin to shame, but we were both too angry to notice how close we were.

He was so… manipulative. He was trying to _hijack _me into being friends with him! What kind of person does that?

"Get out Bella!" he roared at the top of his lungs.

"Why? Why do you want me to leave?" I shouted.

"Because I don't need you!" he roared.

"What kind of an excuse is that?" I demanded.

"Mine!"

"Get a new one. I'm not going anywhere." I hissed. I disengaged from our staring match and plopped determinedly down in the chair facing his desk.

"You're so… stubborn Bella Swan!" he said in a frustrated voice as he propped himself against his desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was a very human gesture.

"You're so enigmatic Edward Cullen." I said. I was proud to note that we were no longer yelling. "Now tell me really, why do you want me to leave?"

"Because… I can't handle this." He stated.

"You're admitting weakness? This _is_ a new one."

"So do you think less of me for it?" he said.

I was surprised. He was asking me a question that actually made me wonder if he cared what I thought of him. Was this even possible? But I should have known better. He was a complete mystery to me.

"Well… no. No. I don't think less of you." I said slowly.

"So if I was less tough than you thought I was, you wouldn't hate me anymore than you already do?" he said.

"No. And since we're admitting weakness, I don't hate you. I merely… dislike you." I said quietly. I was again surprised to feel that I actually meant it.

"You don't?" he said. I forced myself to look into his eyes.

"I don't."

"Well… that's good." he said. He looked away and rubbed a hand through his hair with a tired sort of sigh. "Dislike is better than hate."

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't think you cared what I thought of you." I said quietly.

"Most people seem to think like that too." He said.

"Are they right?" I asked.

"No." He said simply.

"At least we know something then." I said, feeling satisfied.

"What?" he said tiredly.

"You aren't made out of stone." I said happily. He threw me an irritated but slightly amused smile that came out crooked and half like. It took my breath away.

Edward Cullen had taken my breath away.

Oh god.

**There. Good. That's done. I hope you guys liked the edited version, and review again please! I want to know what you guys think of _this _****one too!**

**oOo**

**ecrivain inspire**: Does it make sense now? Mike keeps calling cause he's a creeper.

**Inu-ru831**: Some kind of relationship. Doesn't that sound like an album name? But I agree. That does look weird.

**Edward-is-sexier-than-Mike**: You're welcome!

**JAKE(anon):** FEAR NOT! I'm not that cruel.

**Estrellegoddess**: MUAHAHAHA! You know, you're right. That is fun. I like stories like this too, which is why I wrote it :P


	8. Moodiness

**Chapter Eight**

**Hullo thar! Make sure that you guys have read the added on part from the last chapter before you read this one. And I updated but it's short.**

**And here's a little summary of Wuthering Heights**** (You'll need it.) Heathcliff and Catherine are in love, but she doesn't want to marry him because he's beneath her in class, so she marries a childhood friend Edgar hoping to advance Heathcliff. Heathy leaves and comes back, and Cathy is friends with him, which makes Edgar mad. The feud between the two men drives Cathy insane and she dies in childbirth. Then Heathy kinda loses it and proceeds to abuse all of his enemies and their heirs because Cathy's brother treats him like a servant. It's a very good, but very **_**angry**_** book. In the end everyone is depressed etc, etc. Mind you, that's a terrible summary… but it's the general idea.**

**oOo**

**Life is Wonderful, Jason Mraz**

**oOo**

**:Moodiness:**

I walked into the office the next day feeling good.

Edward and I were officially on truce status. It was good. I wasn't dreading another day of arguing and bantering.

Yesterday had been important in our relationship, I knew it. After I had left the office I went home.

I walked inside the apartment with my mind still at the office. Alice was gone again, but she was with Jasper, so I wasn't concerned about it.

I had tried to respond to Charlie's letter but failed miserably, and after three re-writes I gave up. Instead, I curled up on my bed and read Wuthering Heights until I fell asleep.

As I got up I shoved it into my bag to take to work with me in the off chance that Edward didn't give me a huge load of work.

So I was more than delighted to realize that Edward- perfectionist, precise Edward- was late. That gave me the time to read my book. I hung up my coat and flopped down in the expensive rolling chair at my desk.

I leaned back and put my feet up. It took me a minute to find my balance on the rolling wheels, but I found it wasn't too difficult to stay balanced. I picked up my book and started reading.

I knew I must have looked like a complete idiot, me, in a pencil skirt and heels, with my legs propped up on my desk. I looked like your typical office bimbo, but then I was reading a worn copy of Wuthering Heights, which defied any stereotype that people would try to classify me into.

I think that was exactly what Edward must have thought as he walked in and stopped on his way to his office. Of course, I didn't get to see the confused expression on his face, as I was _completely _not in the moment.

I lost track of time and forgot that I was only planning on reading for a few minutes. Instead, I sat there like that for almost a half hour. By the time Edward walked in, I was living in the world of Kathy and Heathcliff.

I was brutally dragged from the 1800's by Edward's velvet chuckle.

I was so surprised that I made the mistake of leaning forward in my chair, thus offsetting my balance and causing me to tumble to the ground. I whacked my shin against the edge of the table and the end result was me, sprawled across the floor, with an injured heel and a book on my head.

Needless to say, Edward found it supremely amusing and started laughing, and naturally, I didn't.

"Oh just…piss off." I grumbled as I sat up and pulled Wuthering Heights off my head.

"Nope. It's totally worth your wrath. I've never seen something so odd in my _entire _life." He laughed. I scowled at him, but soon found myself laughing too as I looked at myself.

It was actually sort of funny.

Soon we were both cracking up, and for the first time, we weren't laughing at each other, but just… laughing. It was an extremely freeing feeling.

Just then Jessica walked in with a piece of paper in her hand. We both shut up really quickly and recovered our composure. I stood up and adjusted my skirt and picked up the book from the floor. I felt myself blushing.

My cheeks were such traitors.

"Oh." She said. The look she was throwing me was murderous, which only made me want to laugh again. I let out a small giggle.

_What was wrong with me? _

Edward threw me an amused expression, which in turn, made me giggle again.

_I repeat: WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME?_

"Thank you Jessica." He said warmly. She let out a loud huff of breath and shoved the papers at me. I contained my laughter as she high-tailed it out of the room. As soon as she left, Edward and I turned to each other and smiled.

It was that half-smile again and I felt suddenly self-conscious.

_Was my hair screwed up from the fall? Is my skirt straight? _

Then I remembered that he was my _boss _and of all the people on the planet, he was probably the last person who I should make me worry about my appearance around.

He sobered at my abruptly sour expression.

"Well… hello Ms. Swan." He said stiffly. I nodded my head and grabbed my book.

"I'm just going to… get to work." I said. He nodded his head slightly and walked into his office. Just before he shut the door he paused and looked at Wuthering Heights in my arms. I followed his gaze and looked back up at him inquisitively.

"You've read it?" I asked.

"Once. I disliked it." he said.

"What? How can you dislike it?" I said incredulously. Edward turned towards his office like he was considering just leaving, but then turned back to me and took a step in my direction after a moment of consideration.

"Because it was so hateful." He said.

"Only Heathcliff is angry!" I said defensively.

"VERY angry." He said dryly.

"Be that as it may, the rest of the story is an interesting take on what people will do for revenge." I said.

"I found it to be more about how what happens to you as a child can influence you as an adult. That and the extents that people will go to for love." He said.

"I can see that I guess, but I don't know if Heathcliff was after, or even deserved love." I said.

"I thought you were pro-Heathcliff." He countered gently.

"Well no. I understand him, but I'm more pro-Catherine and Edgar Linton." I said cautiously.

"Really? I didn't like Edgar. He was too cold, besides, Cathy didn't love him."

"She was trying to _help _Heathcliff. She hoped that he would get a better position. Everything that Cathy was doing was to _help _him. Heathcliff just didn't listen and was a bitter, angry person who wouldn't listen." I said, my voice rising in pitch.

"Maybe Heathcliff didn't need help!" he countered.

"I thought you were con-Heathcliff."

"I understand him sometimes!" he said darkly.

"I've noticed!" I snapped.

"Let it go Bella! I don't even know why you care so much about Heathcliff! What did he _ever, _do for you?" Edward said angrily as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Maybe he never tried!"

"Maybe he couldn't!" Edward said, finally raising his voice to a yelling level.

"I don't want to fight Edward." I said quietly. He seemed to stop at my words.

His face relaxed and he leaned back. All traces of anger faded from his voice as he said

"Yes. Let's not fight."

"I… didn't mean to snap." I said.

"Me either." He said. There was a silence.

"We… weren't really talking about Heathcliff and Cathy were we?" he said suddenly.

"I honestly didn't think you were going to acknowledge that." I said.

"I wouldn't normally." He said.

"Is today different?" I asked mildly.

"It seems like it." he chuckled.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Lately I've been feeling a little… out of it." he admitted.

"I know what you mean." I agreed darkly.

"We're pretty screwed up aren't we Bella." He stated loudly. I had to laugh at that.

"I know. We're arguing for one minute then friends the next."

"I've heard of weird relationships but this is…" I started.

"A mess." He finished. There was another silence as we both stared down at our hands.

I felt like a kindergartner around a boy she had a crush on. She had wanted to talk to him since forever, but when she finally could, she realized that she had forgotten how to talk.

But I definitely didn't have a crush on Edward. That sounded odd to me as I thought it in my head, and I couldn't figure out why.

"Hey Bella, would you go somewhere with me?" he asked suddenly.

"Where? We've got work." I said, suddenly nervous.

"Not if I say we don't." he said with a playful smirk.

"Are we… ditching class Edward Cullen?" I quipped back.

"I wouldn't call it ditching, I'd call it more… forgetting class."

"Well in that case, I would be honored to forget class with you." I said cheerfully.

"I swear, we're as moody as a teenager." I observed as I put on my coat.  
"About as mature as one too." He agreed.

And for the first time, I walked out the door of our office with a smile on my face.

**oOo  
And that cut off, I know, and I left you hanging, I know, and that was a terrible spot to end, I know. But, I wanted to give you guys **_**something **_**before camp because I hate leaving for 2 weeks. Sorry about the long A/N up there too.**

**REVIEWS PLEASE! (I want an inbox full of FFs when I get back :-p )**

**oOo**

**dollegirl**: HAHA! I updated! I'm so sneaky aren't I?

**Janna B**: I was trying for that, and I'm _so _glad you picked up on it. Reading reviews where people actually _get _what I'm going for is my favorite thing ever.

**Lacrymosa Wolf****: **Ah! A fellow creature of the night. I hear you. Thanks for the enthusiastic review :)

**toxicwaffles****: **The fighting is almost over. Hang in there sweetie. –pats back- I know it's hard.

**Crazily Sane Pancake****: **OMG. Are you a Nerdfighter? ME TOO! –happy dances-

**cullens12:**Hello logic? You just got defied! I totally updated. Just for you. Well… mostly for everyone… but still. You can pretend.


	9. Childishness

**Chapter Nine**

**Oh dear, let's see if I remember how to do this shall we? I'm realizing now that I'm going to have to rewrite the letter, because my Bella and Edward's personalities are developing themselves, and the letter that I wrote this story because of no longer works with my Bella and Edward. So it seems I must rewrite it, which sucks because I was rather fond of it.**

**Oh yeah. FLUFF ALERT!**

**PS. Say childishness like... ten times fast. It's hard!**

**oOo**

**Playlist: A Lack of Color, Death Cab For Cutie**

**oOo**

**:Childishness: **

**oOo**

Edward was leading me towards the stairs, actually the _stairs _instead of the elevator. As soon as I realized we were walking away from the direction of the elevators, I assumed he was taking me somewhere in the office, but when he led me to the stairs of all places, I was surprised.

"We're walking?" I said disbelievingly as he held the door open for me.

"Can you handle the strain Ms. Swan?" he said with mock concern. I threw him an irritated look and walked in.

_Damn him and his reverse psychology. _

The stairs were painted a dull grey color, and were narrow. They wound around and around, lit by bare bulbs on the wall that cast long shadows from the metal railings along the wall and edges.

It was like any other staircase I'd ever seen. _So why was he taking me up them? _

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" I asked dryly as I looked down the center to the dizzying drop down the center of the stairs. Edward lightly grabbed my arm to pull me back. The result was an electrifying feeling that shot out from the concentrated point where he was touching me, all the way through my body, creating a feeling that made me feel… _alive_. It was like sticking my hand in an electrical socket: tingling, electric and hot, of course, minus the whole you-just-got-electrocuted-seek-immediate-medical-help thing. He yanked his hand back in surprise and I staggered backwards to lean against the railing.

"Don't fall." He said sheepishly. I grinned.

"So… what is this all for?" I asked.

"We're taking _my _way." He laughed as he started climbing up the stairs. I stayed put, watching his lithe form ascending the stairs gracefully.

"Your way where?" I called. But he only threw me an amused glance and started _running _up the stairs.

**oOo**

"I'm going to win!" he said.

"Not if I have a say in it!" I laughed.

"Why are we racing?" he asked.

"Well… you started it!" I teased.

"And I'm going to finish it too!" he smirked as he dashed up the stairs, neck and neck with me. We were almost to the top, only two more floors, and we were tied.

"Yeah, you'll finish it…. last!" I laughed. Our raucous voices echoed around the cement space and seemed to race along with us. I don't know what it was about the moment that made me feel so giddy.

It might have been the fact that I was a naturally competitive person, or maybe it was that I loved running, or perhaps it was the endorphins flowing through me, or maybe it was the way Edward's eyes sparkled in a sort of childish delight as we raced up the narrow stairs.

Either way, I was walking on air- or at least, I was running on it.

"You think I'm losing?" he said.  
"Mmm- hmm!" I laughed in agreement.

"Well you've forgotten about my secret weapon!" he called as I finally passed him.

"What?" I blurted. Suddenly Edward was no longer a few steps behind me, but had pulled to a halt behind me. I fell to a stop as I tried to figure out what he was doing. But then he looked up at me with a devious glint in his eyes and it was too late when I realized what he was doing. He kicked off his shoes in an effortless motion and sprinted up at an incredible speed to pass me.

I started up, but it was too late- he already reached the top.

"Damn you and your mad shoe taking off skills!" I called to him. All I could hear was his velvet laugh telling me to bring his shoes up with me while I was way down there.

I ignored him pointedly and marched up the stairs with my head held high.

"Alright, you won that one. I can accept that. But Mr. Cullen, you've forgotten one important thing." I said with a satisfied smirk.

"What Ms. Swan?" he said with a satisfied smirk of his own.

"We still have to race down." I chuckled. "And _you_ seem to have lost your shoes again. You should probably work on that. It seems to be a reoccurring problem with you."

He sighed loudly, but I ignored him and pushed the large industrial door open onto the roof. By then I was sure this place was the same roof, but apparently there was something _else _amazing up here. I looked around for something, anything, new, but found nothing.

"What am I looking for?" I mused.

Suddenly two cold hands slipped over my eyes, and I was momentarily stunned as I fought to regain my balance. But the gravel on the roof and my already bad equilibrium weren't working to my advantage, and my heel slipped backwards. I was bracing myself for the sting of gravel on skin, but I should have known better.

_Of course _Edward was right there, and _of course _he caught me. I sat suspended in his arms for a whole second before reflex kicked in and I pushed against the marble arms holding me. Apparently he ran to get his shoes and _still _made it back in time to see me at my worst moment. _Perfect timing Edward Cullen. _

"Sorry, I should have known you would have overreacted." He said, an awkward attempt at humor, but I appreciated it.

"It's okay, it was my mistake anyway." I said. "Now where are we going?" I asked.

"Okay, now I'm going to cover your eyes, but don't… flip out or something. I don't want you to like… break your leg or something extreme." He said, covering my eyes.

"Oh yes, let's not do anything extreme, for example, taking me completely by surprise on purpose." I said loudly. He laughed and pushed gently on my shoulders, and we started walking.

I was painfully aware of how cold I was, however I didn't say anything. But like he could read minds, Edward seemed to notice my coldness.

"We're going somewhere warm, don't worry." He said quietly.

"On the roof?" I said.

"You haven't been here before, you'll be surprised what can grow if there's someone to love it." he said mysteriously.

"Grow?" I said.

"Be quiet and march, or I'll push you off the edge." He said.

"Fine, but if I crash to my death on the pavement, you aren't allowed to come to my funeral." I stated unhappily.

After a few minutes of walking, we finally stopped. He took his hands off of my eyes and I was able to see where he had brought me.

It was a large glass structure about the size of our office. It was made of all windows that gleamed in the morning sun and gave me a clear view of the explosion of green on the inside. It was a… greenhouse… on the roof.

"You… you have a garden on the roof?" I blurted. I was so surprised I almost fell over again. Edward seemed to find my expression amusing, but I was too impressed and shocked to be irritated with his smugness.

"I had it constructed. We built it as part of our building's green effort." He said proudly. For once, there was not a trace of arrogance in his voice, but real, honest pride.

I turned to look at his sideways profile as he gazed at the greenhouse with a loving look. He didn't seem to notice me. His emerald eyes matched the green through the glass and seemed a lighter color than I had noticed before. He turned to look at me and I quickly looked away in embarrassment.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" he said quietly. I nodded enthusiastically.

The inside was indeed warm and also very humid. Plants covered every surface in all sizes and colors and people in green aprons mulled about and tended to the various shrubs and plants. Some were simple and charming, with a sort of classic charm. Others were exotic and fragrant. But they were all beautiful and wonderfully cared for. It was like a little meadow, in the heart of New York, in the dead of winter on the top of a skyscraper.

So it defied logic, but so did Edward and I, and we were getting along better lately.

Edward gave me a tour and showed me the complicated watering system that filtered rainwater and the solar panels on the ground outside that rotated to catch more sun to power the heater. He pointed out all the types of flowers, and I was genuinely interested in all he had to say.

After Edward had given his tour, I took the opportunity to look around for myself. I knew immediately what I was looking for, and after a brief hunt I found them.

A large pot of pale pink freesias sat in the corner next to some poppies and a strawberry plant. I leaned down to inhale their sweet scent.

Freesias had been my favorite flower since Charlie had taken me to the flower shop to buy Renee some apology flowers after a bad fight. He had let me pick them out.

"_Here Bella, why don't you pick some flowers for mommy." He said with a smile. The lady at the counter walked over to me with a big smile._

"_What's your favorite color sweetie?" she asked._

"_Pink." I answered instantly. The lady smiled. _

"_Well we have some very pretty freesias in, would you like to see?" she asked. I looked up at Charlie for a nod of approval._

"_Go ahead kiddo, you go look." He said. I followed the lady to the front of the store where she pointed to a big bouquet of freesias in a pale pink the color of cotton candy._

"_Do you think mommy will like them daddy?" I asked. Charlie walked up behind me and scooped me up in his arms._

"_Do you like them Bella?" he asked. _

"_They're really pretty daddy." I giggled._

"_Well tell you what then princess, I'll get them for you." He said with a smile._

"_Really? Just like mommy?" I had said, clapping my hands in delight._

"_Just like mommy." He agreed. The lady at the counter smiled._

"_What a wonderful family you have." She said as she picked up two bouquets. Charlie merely smiled._

"_And will mommy really like them daddy?" I asked hopefully._

"_Your mom will love them." he had assured me._

"_They're really pretty."_

"_Just like you." He said, kissing my nose. _

The wave of déjà vu was so strong that I almost dropped them. Edward appeared behind me but didn't seem to notice the sad face I was now wearing.

"Do you like them Bella?" he asked. My voice was barely a whisper.

"They're really pretty Edward." I breathed in a heartbroken voice.

"What's the matter Bella?" he asked instantly. I quickly wiped the tiny tear from the corner of my eye and turned around.

"Nothing." I said quickly. "It's probably just allergies." Edward looked at me with a glance that saw right through me. I felt very alone and vulnerable under his scrutinizing gaze.

"Bella-" he started with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Please Edward." I said, pushing gently on his shoulders to get him to back up so I could leave the corner. "I'm fine." He didn't look convinced, but nodded slightly. I sighed in relief. I didn't feel like arguing.

"Hey Bella… um…" Edward started suddenly as I moved on to burying my nose in a sweet smelling lavender plant. He sounded hesitant and… nervous, was it?

How could that be possible?

"Yes Edward?" I prompted gently as he stared at the floor and rubbed his neck. I brought the lavender to my nose again and let the little purple flowers tickle my face.

"Would you like to go get some coffee with me?" he said. I set the lavender down in surprise.  
"Well as a matter of fact, I would." I said cheerfully.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes. But there's one condition." I said, raising one finger out in front of me.

"Of course."

"If I win the race down the stairs, you owe me an espresso with an extra shot of vanilla." I declared loudly. "And a muffin with chocolate chips."

"And if I win you owe me a coffee, black, no sugar." He said.

"Deal."

"Deal."

"Oh you are so going down." I smirked.

**oOo**

We were flying.

My shoes were in my hand and so were my socks, which I had taken off as a safety precaution, since technically racing down cement stairs in socks is a bad idea. My hair flew behind my like a kite on the wind and my arms swung at my sides.

Edward's legs were longer, better for covering more ground, but my feet were smaller, better for stepping.

We were evenly matched, as usual.

Suddenly Edward made a graceful stride that put him ahead of me, and I made a rash decision. I fluffed out my skirt and sat down on the banister.

Gravity did the work for me.

I _really _flew past him as I slid down the winding banister. It wouldn't have worked were it not for my extremely skinny butt and the wide ledge. The look on Edward's face was priceless as I sped past him on my winding ride.

I was at our floor good floor seven floors before him, and my triumphant laughter was probably heard throughout the building. Edward raced down the stairs like a bat out of hell and his expression was wide eyed and panicked.

"Jeesh Edward what's with you-" as all I got out before he leaped to a stop and wrapped his arms around me.

"Jesus Bella, don't do that. You gave me a heart attack." He breathed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I struggled against his iron grip. Suddenly aware of how much bigger he was than me, I struggled against his iron grasp. He had strong muscular arms that held me like chains. I couldn't break free if I hit him with a shovel. So instead I settled for holding stock-still and hoping he got the picture that I didn'tlike that much physical contact.

"Edward, I really only have one neck, and if you snap it, I will be seriously pissed." I hissed.

"Well if you fell off a banister and smashed your head on the concrete below I would be seriously pissed too." He snapped as he released me.

"I'm not made of glass you know."

"But you're not made of stone either."

"It's a good thing too. Or else I wouldn't have won." I said with a smirk. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Come on." He muttered. "It appears as though I owe you some whipped coffee thing."

"That's an espresso with an extra shot of vanilla and a muffin to you!" I said as we marched out the door.

**oOo**

Edward drove a Volvo.

I would not have taken him as a Volvo guy, more of an Italian sports car that costs more than a house sort of person. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

It was simple, but still beautiful, with a sort of easy charm that just oozed elegance.

It had great speakers for his music.

It was capable and preformed well.

It was definitely and Edward car.

We pulled up to a coffee shop I had never been to before and Edward opened the door for me like a true gentleman.

"Thank you." I said with a small smile. He dipped his head and we walked inside.

I was too busy noticing the shop and all the coffee choices to notice where the coffee shop was situated: right in front of Mike's office.

I was also too busy to notice the large form coming out of it now.

"Hi," I said to the attendant. "I'd like an espresso with-" but that was all I got out before I heard the little bell above the door ding. I looked up instinctively only to see Mike's surprised face staring out at me.

Oh crap.

**oOo**

**I found this one a bit wordy… but I'm taking a risk here at the advice of one reviewer who advised some sentence variation. I don't know completely how to fix my writing style but I got the review literally five minutes ago, so I'm still looking into it. **

**Cut me some slack on this one. **

**oOo**

**lovexmylime**: That Belly Welly. She's such a kidder. I've seriously never heard that nickname before! Loverly dahling.

**edwardluver925**: It seems quite a few people were more critical of the last chapter because I don't usually get reviews with actual critique in them, so I really appreciate it! Also muchos gracias for the long review.

**Bekah N****:** I can't wait until I get back from camp to- OH WAIT! I'M BACK! Gawsh, I'm such an idiot sometimes. -whacks forehead like a hillbilly- :P

**asyouwish16**: I enjoy euh... 'forgetting' class myself -wink- hehe. Shhhh.


	10. Distress

**Chapter Ten**

**Hullo thar! The response for the last chapter was wonderful, it seems like you guys liked that one the best, and I'm pleased to hear that because it made writing this chapter (which was exhausting) easier.**

**PS. There's a little surprise for you about halfway in. You'll know it when you see it. And a BIG (ish) surprise at the end. **

**oOo**

**Playlist: Save Us, Cartel**

**oOo**

**:Distress:**

_He didn't see me, thank god. _

That was the only thing running through my head as I quickly turned my attention back to the attendant. She looked expectant.

Had I ordered already? I couldn't remember.

"Um… that sounds great?" I tried. The attendant looked satisfied.

"Three fifty." she said. I handed her a five-dollar bill without caring that Edward was supposed to pay for it (and also my muffin).

_Edward! _I thought. Where was he? I was terrified to turn around in case Mike could see me. Luckily the attendant needed one more thing from me.

"Can I get your name miss?" she asked me.

"Euh… Bella Swan." I muttered.

"We'll call your name when the coffee is done." She said. I nodded and then did a sort of side shuffle thing over to a small table with a newspaper. I sat down very quickly and picked up the newspaper like they do in old movies. It was corny but it worked.

I peeked around the edge of the newspaper to see Mike approaching the counter and, to my horror, no Edward in sight.

I sat up a little straighter.

Why was I panicking? He was Mike. I was no damsel in distress, and I didn't need Edward to protect me from him… wherever the hell Edward was anyway.

But despite my indifference to his presence there, I kept the newspaper up in front of my face with every intention of just letting him not notice me.

Edward seemed like the type to overreact, and the _last _thing I needed was him meeting my stalker ex. He didn't even know that I was sent on a mission from Alice, or even that I had any ties to her, and I didn't plan on telling him. So to tell him that I had a creeper like Mike on my tail would have semi-disastrous consequences.

My genius plan was going well, and he had successfully ordered his coffee without noticing me. Edward still hadn't turned up, and I suspected that he had gone to the bathroom, but other than that, it was all going according to plan. But that all went to hell in a hand-basket when the coffee attendant said two words.

"Bella Swan?" her voice rang out clear and simple in the small space, and to my dismay, Mike recognized the name instantly. I flinched.

"Bella Swan?" she called again. I sighed and set the newspaper down. He already knew I was there, what was the point of hiding? He couldn't do anything anyway.

I marched up to the counter and picked up the drink without looking at him as he stood there staring at me, slack jawed, eyes wide. I saw him reach his arm out as if to touch me so I took a hasty step back, his eyes narrowed.

_Now it's time to leave. _

I griped my coffee so hard that my knuckles turned white, but that was the only sign of the nervousness I felt as I marched out of the coffee shop. Edward would have to wait.

The door shut behind me and I let out a long breath of relief only to stop breathing all together as I realized that the door had opened again behind me.

I whirled around to see Mike standing there, the same shocked look on his face. I turned around again and marched forward, not really sure where I was going but trying to put as much distance between myself and Mike as humanly possible in heels and a pencil skirt.

Heavy footsteps hit the ground in a steadily increasing tempo behind me and my breath came shorter and shorter.

_You are in a busy place in broad daylight Bella, pull it together! This isn't CSI New York! _

But my reasoning didn't work. I was afraid of Mike, and I couldn't convince myself that a full sized man who had been stalking me for the last month wasn't a threat to my petite 120 pound self.

I reasoned that I had two options.

1. Run. Run away. But the problem with that was that he would know I was afraid of me and he would probably follow.

2. Stop and confront him. The problem with that was obvious, he was scary and I didn't want to talk to him.

So it came down to bravery or cowardice, with risks and repercussions attributed to both. But the faster I walked the more I tried to convince myself to slow down. I hadn't walked far, it was best to turn around and go back. Then I could stick by Edward.

I stopped and forced myself to turn, almost running into Mike himself. I pushed past him without even looking at him and he didn't say anything. I thought that the worst was over, I thought that it was safe to let out the breath I was holding, I thought it was over. That is until, he reached out and grabbed my arm.

I could see the coffee shop, I was so close. I wrenched my arm free.

"Let go." I commanded as I started walking.

"Bella!" Mike barked. Just hearing him say my name sent a trill of fear roll down my back. I walked faster only to feel his hand on my shoulder, pulling me to a halt. My arm lurched and the coffee splashed onto my hand, creating a burning sensation that was unpleasant. It gave me an idea.

I turned to face him, no fear showing in my eyes as the resolve to do something drastic formed in my mind.

"Let go of me this instant Mike, or you'll regret it." I hissed.

"You aren't capable of hurting a fly Bella, and I just need to talk to you." He snickered as he started to steer my body in the opposite direction.

"You're right, I'm not capable of hurting a fly." I laughed darkly. In one fluid motion I whirled around and stomped down on his foot hard. Then, while he was doubled over, I dumped my coffee on his head. "But lucky for me, I like flies a hell of a lot more than I like you."

He instantly recoiled as the hot liquid seeped down his bleach blonde hair and into his face, now twisted in pain. He let out a string of profanities as I steadily backed up towards the door. I was halfway there when I had to screw my brilliant escape plan up.

I tripped.

Yes, that's right, I tripped. I didn't notice that my backwards march was leading me right a large crack in the sidewalk. I stepped on it square on, and my ankle made a snapping noise as I fell backwards. My arms swung out to catch me but they weren't fast enough, my reflexes dulled by the pain throbbing in my ankle. I realized what was coming seconds before it happened, and I was only aware of the sharp thud noise my head made as it made contact with the cement.

My eyes closed, my thoughts raced around, my ankle throbbed, my head went numb, then couldn't even feel my ankle anymore. Something was beating.

Was that my heartbeat, or was it footsteps? I couldn't tell. Someone made a high pitched noise and two arms lifted me gently.

"Bella? Oh god Bella!" And then I was falling, falling, falling backwards into oblivion.

**oOo**

**Edward's POV**

I had never been one to deny reality, I took things for what they were. But when I saw her falling, my thoughts and my brain fell out of sync, and my version of reality became distorted by the terror and adrenaline flowing through me.

I heard the crack before it registered in my brain. Then the panic started. She wasn't moving, her eyes were rapidly closing, and I was running. Some guy was staring down at her with horror in his eyes. Someone screamed, but they were a million miles away. And then I was at her side.

_Not her, not her, not her. _It was coursing through my brain, all my thoughts frantically trying to convince myself that this woman was _not _Bella, that she was fine and this was someone else. But all it took was one look at her pale frame to tell me that this was my Bella. The ground underneath her head was turning red from… blood. My heart stopped.

I reached down and picked up her hand and pressed it to my ear. She had a pulse.

_Of course she does you idiot! She just fell, she's fine. Bella's tough. _

But I couldn't stop myself from yelling out in a desperate attempt to get an answer from her.

"Bella? Oh god Bella!"

My thoughts were yelling at me, demanding to know why my body was reacting this violently. I couldn't make them cooperate. I leaned over her pale frame and slipped my arms underneath her, lifting her into my arms. She weighed almost nothing, or maybe the adrenaline was giving me emergency strength, but I made it to my Volvo in no time flat.

Her head was bleeding heavily like head wounds do, but it didn't matter that my Volvo was going to be covered in her blood. I wasn't waiting for an ambulance to take her, of course it would be me. And of course, there was only one doctor good enough to take care of her. There was only one doctor who met my extraordinarily high standards.

My pride was already hurting as I realized that I didn't trust any other doctor half as much as the one I swore I would never speak to again.

I needed Carlisle.

**Bella's POV**

"And you're sure?"

"Would you stop pacing? I told you-"

"I know."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I think she tripped."

"Well she's fine. Head wounds just bleed a lot, you know that. The only permanent damage was her sprained ankle."

"Just… fix it."

"It's fixed already."

"It was all my fault. If I had just stayed in that damn coffee shop…"

"Where did you go?"

"I went to the bathroom and when I came back, she was gone. I still have no idea why she left."

"I see. Well she'll need to take it easy, keep off the foot for the time being and relax. A day in bed will cure the head pain but it will take longer for the ankle. Don't let her take the stairs anywhere because her Achilles tendon suffered the brunt of the damage. Walking won't help it."

"Well… thank you Carlisle. I… didn't know where else to go, and you were the only one I was sure would take care of her properly."

There was a silence.

"You got her here before she bled too much, that was very well handled." Was the answer. I knew instantly who the first voice was, it was the last thing I heard before I blacked out, so naturally it was the first thing I heard as I woke up.

But the second voice…. that one I didn't understand.

It had a cool sort of authority that made me trust him and he sounded older, but with a similar smooth voice to Edward's. I gave up.

My foot felt numb, and there was something sturdy bracing it. My head was thick and my thoughts seemed to slow down. I opened my eyes only to shut them again instantly. The light! It was like getting a flash picture taken of you in the dark.

"Turn off that light Edward." The calm voice commanded. "Bella, we've turned the lights down, you can open your eyes."

I was sorely tempted to ignore him and fall back asleep, but I wasn't about to play the damsel in distress any longer. Even in my weakened state, the knowledge that I had passed out irritated me enough to risk the light.

So I inched my eyes open, and was greeted by the sole light from a desk lamp. I was in a hospital room, no surprise, and sitting in front of me were Edward and a doctor who matched the smooth voice I had heard earlier. I would have sat up, but my head was throbbing like there was a cell phone buzzing in my head, and I knew moving it would hurt like hell.

"Hello Bella, my name is Carlisle Cullen. You had quite a nasty fall and needed stitches, but the damage was minimal, and you should be fine." He said briskly. I turned my head to the side. Edward was… glaring at me.

"What?" I slurred drowsily.

"Would you kindly explain to me what happened back there that made you just bolt from the coffee shop like that?" he hissed.

"Hey-" I started, but the doctor cut me off.

"Edward you cannot talk to her like that. She suffered head trauma, needed stitches and broke her ankle, you have no right to her like she has done something wrong. You will be respectful or you will leave." He said.

Relief surged through me. I wasn't capable of arguing with Edward and I also realized that I would have to fully explain to him about my stalker. Emmett had probably exaggerated the whole thing when he taunted Edward about it, that was of course, before Edward threw him into a wall.

"Well thank you Dr. Culle-" I started, then stopped mid-sentence.

"Dr. _Cullen_? Did I hear that right?" I stuttered. It all made sense. The reason the two men sounded so short with each other, the similarities in voices and authority. They were father and son. It seemed so obvious to me that I was surprised it took me so long to figure it out.

"Yes. That's me." he said calmly.

Now it was _my _turn to glare at Edward.

"Bella this is-" he started.

"Edward's dear old dad." Dr. Cullen finished dryly with a roll of his eyes that matched his son's so exactly it was unnerving. Edward crossed his arms across his chest and walked over to me.

"Alright… now that we've all been introduced, will you please explain it to me?" he said, and his attempt at being civil was half hearted.

"Well… " where did I start? Should I just blurt out the whole story? 'Hey Edward, guess what? The guy who made me quit my last job was stalking me, which is the only reason I ever met you in the first place. And then he found me so I threw coffee at him while trying to escape and _not _seem like a damsel in distress which led to my eventual sprained ankle and head trauma, defeating the not-being-a-damsel-in-distress thing.'

Easy answer to that question.

N-O.

"I… saw someone I knew… and… I didn't feel like talking to him so I left in a hurry and then I tripped and hit my head. End of story." I summarized. Edward's answering glare was accusing.

"You're editing."

"Some. You don't need to know the whole story." I said defensively.

"Why not?" he demanded angrily.

"Because it's my life and some things are private."

"This area of your life should hardly be private!" he snapped.

"Edward-" started Dr. Cullen.

"No! Let him speak. And please Edward, tell me, why on Earth would I tell you about my life? You didn't seem so interested before."

"Because you just cracked your head on a sidewalk, fell unconscious and Ihad to take you to the hospital to see my _father _of all people! You must have guessed my family life isn't peachy." Edward yelled. Dr. Cullen made the wise choice to leave the room, seeming to guess I wasn't going to back down and neither was Edward, who continued. "The inside of my car is _covered _in your blood!"

"Excuse me for getting blood on your precious car!" I sneered.

"I couldn't care less about that Bella! It was _your blood_ on my car. You were in serious trouble and it was _me, _who picked you up and drove you here. And it was _me_ who had to explain to my father that I let this happen. And it was _me_ who had to sit for five hours waiting for you to get stitched up and to wake up. And you know what else? It will be _me _who drops you off at your apartment and makes sure you get home safely." He was shouting now, however the emotion wasn't anger, but passion.

"And why the hell would I do all this stuff if I didn't care about you? If I'm as cold and mean as you seem to think I am, why would I still be here, blurting all this out to you? Answer me that Bella, because you seem to have me all figured out." His eyes were emerald fire that seemed to see right through me.

And I understood Edward for one second. I could see him bringing me to the hospital, I could see him talking to his father, I could see him in the waiting room, and I could see him having the conversation in the little room where we were now.

And for one second in time, I fully and completely understood what Edward Cullen was trying to tell me. I understood the emotion behind the words, and the feelings behind those emerald eyes.

And he was right.

It wasn't a huge epiphany; it was looking at it from his point of view for the first time. It had been sitting there in front of me all the while, but I had been too stubborn to see it.

"You…. You're right." I whispered.

"Do you understand it Bella?" he whispered.

"I do." He let out a low breath and moved forward to hold my hands.

"You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that." he breathed. I moved my fingers in small circles on his hands, twice as big as my own, to calm both of us down.

"I didn't understand you before. I _still _don't understand you of course, but I understand your feelings here." I murmured. I looked up at him and he looked up at me. My breath caught in my throat.

His eyes were the most spectacular color I had ever seen. They were a deep forest green on the edges and gradually got lighter closer to the iris. They managed to sparkle like sunlight on water in the half-light of the desk lamp and looked at me with intensity to match a politician and passion to match an artist.

My hand stopped moving and sat limp in my lap as his eyes took me prisoner. Reason and thought were lost to me as lifted my still hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. It sent shivers through my body.

"I'm so glad you're safe Bella." He whispered.

Right at that moment I had a _real_ epiphany: I had officially fallen for Edward Cullen.

**oOo**

**-giggle- Oh wasn't that fun kittens? Now back to business. I would love to reach 200 reviews soon, do you guys think we could get thirty-ish reviews this time? I know that's a lot to ask, but it would make me happier than Alice at Bergdorfs. Love you all! No review answers today, because our internet is funky and I just want to get this thing **_**up.**_

**PS. Six pages, single spaced, 12 pt font. WOOT!**


	11. Sweetness

**Chapter Eleven**

**Hullo and lets just jump right into it- 200 freaking reviews! Did I mention I love you guys? I really don't deserve you. **

**OH! Big news which you may have noticed if you re-read this story within the last half hour (eye roll), I took Jacob out! I had a big plan for his character but as it went on it became painfully obvious that it no longer fit. Sorry if you were rooting for him. I'm working on Alice's character in this one. Anyway enjoy!**

**oOo**

**Playlist: I miss you, Blink182 **

**oOo**

**:Sweetness: **

He dropped me off in front of the apartment building, and it took some hard negotiating on my part to convince him _not _to walk me to the door.

That would end badly. VERY badly.

But he listened to me and dropped me off instead. I was closing the door when he stopped me.

"Oh and Bella?" he said. I turned.

"Yes?"

"I'll be picking you up on Monday, that is of course, if your head stops spinning by then." And with a dark grin, he reached over and shut the door as he drove off.

"He's WHAT?" I blurted out loud. He had been smart to drive off, I never would have let him get away with it. Instead I was forced to stand on the curb for a minute and stare at the space he had left behind before shaking myself out of it and hurrying into our building.

I was dreading seeing Alice. She was bound to be frantic that I hadn't come home, she and we were supposed having a girl's night to celebrate the ending week.

Plus, I had the look of someone who just committed a crime. If you called realizing you were infatuated with your best friend's enemy and brother and not calling to tell her that you cracked your skull and sprained your ankle. Never mind that I could still _smell _Edward's very presence on me, but she didn't need to know _that_ little detail.

But I knew her anger was partially stemmed off of boredom and stress as well, because Alice was having problems with her new no-partying lifestyle. I had promised that we could get take out and watch bad nineties horror movies and scream when the bad guy jumped out of the shadows. It was a tradition that we had roommate sleepovers when we needed a reward, and I considered surviving the week at my crazy job definitely worth celebrating as much as Alice wanted to celebrate her week sans-partying.

I opened the door and Alice was on the phone.

"Yes, she just walked in. Thank you." Alice said calmly. She turned to look at me with relief but expectancy as she hung up the phone.

"Hey! How's your head?" she asked quietly. I didn't bother to ask how she knew or who she had just hung up with, more likely she had called all the hospitals in the area to see if I'd fallen off a bridge or some random cliff… in Manhattan… it would have been an Alice thing to do. Come to think of it… it would have been a Bella thing to do as well.

"Fine." Lie. Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie a million times LIE! My head was throbbing painfully from the dull ache in my head. It made me walking carefully with a stiff back necessary to keep it from moving as much as possible, and the strain then made my back hurt. Then my ankle was, of course, broken, and I won't pretend navigating New York was going to be pleasant.

And of course, now I couldn't wear any of my shoes because I would have a stupid brace thing on which wouldn't go with _anything_. I was going to have to get a whole new shoe wardrobe! GREAT.

And when I had thoroughly convinced myself that I was anything _but _fine, the smile I had so carefully plastered on my face fell like the high from a red bull and a bowl of jelly beans after an hour. Alice seemed to see me coming, and miraculously, she walked forward with no anger or malice, hugged me and whispered

"It's okay. You're fine." I wondered if that was what I liked about Alice. She was able to forget the fact that she had spent hours waiting for me to come home with no phone call or text from me, and had to find out herself by _calling the hospital _that I had hit my skull and fractured my ankle and was _still_ able to give me the big sob/hug best friend treatment. Not to mention of course that Alice had her own set of problems staying away from partying and drinking.

All and all, I wouldn't have been surprised if Alice was in a completely pissy mood. I would have been, hell, I was already and my situation wasn't _half_ as bad as hers! So why, _why _couldn't I pull myself together? Why couldn't I bring myself to stifle to tears streaming down my face, why?

I was such a baby. My cheeks were traitors, my ex-was a stalker, my boss was my dream guy and I was a baby. At least Alice was the good dutiful best friend I didn't deserve in any way. (Imagine me mentally whacking my head against a metaphorical wall.)

"It's okay Bella. It's okay. I ordered Chinese, and I threw popcorn at the delivery guy until he gave me an extra fortune cookie…or twelve." She said in a voice that was simultaneously comforting and triumphant. **(A/N: there's a little extra on that for you to read at the end, if you're interested…)**

"Will you crack it for me? I can never get it to split just right." I said, wiping the tears from my eyes half-heartedly.

"It's okay you know, fortunes can still come true even if you don't start it just right." She said quietly.

"Yeah but as long as you ignore the fortune all together, it'll be alright." I said, laughing slightly as the prospect of bad for me Chinese food and movies on demand like I hadn't been attacked, knocked out, and swept off my feet all in one day.

**oOo**

I woke up on the couch the next morning neatly covered in my duvet.

_Alice. _I thought. She left a post-it note on the coffee table saying she had gone to get lunch with Jasper. Lunch?

"Jesus what time is it?" I groaned, sitting up. I immediately regretted moving because my head was hurting like hell. I flopped back down on the couch and stared at the ceiling and the mid-day sun streaming through our windows. It was going to be a long weekend.

**oOo**

By the time Monday came around, I was ready to get back to work.

My head had hurt like hell all weekend and my ankle was swollen, but my ass was hurting too because I had done absolutely _nothing_. I felt terrible but Carlisle said that I should sit still, and I wasn't about to argue with the good doctor.

So when I woke up on Monday, the first thing I did was to swallow some medication for my head, take a long shower and then promptly remember what Edward had said.

"_I'll be picking you up on Monday, that is of course, if your head stops spinning by then."_

Oh crap.

"ALICE! HELP ME GET DRESSED!" I called. Her little pixie face lit up as she dashed into my room.

"Blue. You're in desperate need of blue." She said, like that served as some form of introduction. Only Alice.

So for the following half hour she ran around the room in a flurry of pixie-with-a-Barbie energy, it was all I could do to sit back and let her run around. I saw her emerge with a blue blouse and a black skirt and hold it up to me, switch it with a brown skirt, and then back to the black.

Finally she threw them both on the floor and came back with a grey skirt. Then she ordered me to change, which of course I did, and then ushered me into the bathroom to do my makeup.

I'm not going to lie: I looked good. I was relatively certain that I wasn't hard on the eyes, but I wasn't a knock out either, however Alice had really made the beauty I possessed multiply.

My eyes were done with a light shadow on the edges and darker shadow in the crease, making my eyes look more defined and elegant. The grey skirt was a beautiful choice with the blouse and it made my pale skin glow like I had a secret… or like I was pregnant.

Hopefully, it was only the former.

"There!" she blurted proudly. "You're officially gorgeous Bella Swan. What's the occasion?" I started to panic. "Wait- don't answer that. I don't need an occasion." She corrected with another look at my newly styled hair.

"Thanks so much Alice, I owe you!" I said as I grabbed my coat and headed for the door, ignoring my racing heart.

"Damn straight." She laughed, taking my black coat from my hands and handing me a white one instead.

"You've got a very classy look going today, wear white." She said simply. I smiled broadly and gave her a light hug before dashing out the door.

My feet were the only part of my body working faster than my heart as I raced down the stairs. I realized too late that my rash decision to take the stairs would probably make me look like I'd just swallowed one too many maraschino cherry, but I was too busy hyperventilating to care.

I reached to bottom entirely too soon and only managed to half-heartedly berate myself for letting Edward get me so worked up, but I was pretty much past fooling myself. He was only easy to ignore when he was irritating.

I managed to take five whole deep breaths before I pushed out the door and saw the silver Volvo there before I started to tremble again. I pinched my arm and remembered the library incident which made me sober up slightly.

I walked up and opened the door with as much as grace as I could manage.

"Hello Bella. Fancy seeing you here." He said as the Volvo purred to life.

"I could say the same to you stranger. I really should no better than to get into cars with strange old men." I sighed melodramatically.

"Old?"

"Alright, not old, but definitely strange." I chuckled. It surprised me how easy it was to forget my nervousness. The playful banter that characterized our relationship made it easy to relax, probably because it was just for fun and we weren't making cracks at each other every other word like we were before.

"How's your head?" he said suddenly. I look up at him and grin sheepishly.

"It's better lately." I said. _Only because his eyes make it incapable for you to think of anything but how gorgeous they are. Jesus Bella! Snap out of it!_

The little voice in my head was right of course, but I couldn't make myself calm down.

"Well that's good. I was… worried." He said softly. My stomach leapt five feet in my body and my head felt light. I had no idea he gave a crap about me.

_He carried you to a hospital while you were passed out, duh he's going to see if you're fine. Anyone would be. He's not being cute for you, he's just… cute._

The small voice was right again, and it made me sigh loudly.

"Does that bother you?" he said.

"That you cared? No! That… that made me happy." _Incredibly_. "I just… it's my ankle." I bluffed.

"Well… would you like some music?" He said helpfully.

"Yeah. I'd like that." I said honestly. He picked up a CD I hadn't heard before and popped it in. Soon, a catchy song started playing and Edward was singing along like he knew it by heart.

"Who is this?" I said over the beating bass.

"Muse!" he laughed. By the second chorus I knew it well enough to sing along too, and we were both jamming out and singing along. I barely noticed as our building came into view, but he turned into the parking garage and I was instantly disappointed.

He parked it in a reserved spot and got out to open my door without being asked.

"Why thank you sir gentlemanly." I said with a small smile. I was glad he couldn't hear how hard my heart was beating in my chest as I grabbed his hand and stepped out.

We walked to the elevator and chatted aimlessly about the weather and my headache as we ascended. When the doors opened I was pleased to note how shocked Lauren looked seeing me joking with Edward. I was even more pleased to notice how he didn't pay her the least bit of attention, he was too busy telling me about the new plans for the greenhouse on the roof while I listened with a little bit too much enthusiasm for any normal secretary.

I was more than sad when we reached the office and we would have to split up. I think Edward might have felt the same way, because he hesitated before going into his office.

"Um… Bella, I have some documents which need sorting, but it's really a pain to drag them out from the office… could you maybe work in my office for the day?" he said with a hesitant smile. I smirked triumphantly.

"Well I do sympathize with whichever poor soul would have had to take them out for you, so I'll do it. But just for the laborer." I said haughtily. I was pretty sure he saw right through me because he rolled his eyes and said

"Wow Ms. Swan. You really are such a philanthropist." And he walked in, leaving me to begin my excited hyperventilating all over again.

**oOo**

It was going better than I could have ever hoped. There was no awkwardness at all.

After ten minutes, Edward put on a CD of classical music and we both kicked off our shoes and loosed our clothes. I was spread out comfortably on the floor as I alphabetized Edward's files and color-coded his contacts. It was mindless, which gave me ample time to stare at him when he was looking down at whatever he was working on at his desk.

Yes, it was the ultimate day in the office, perfect, and the little voice left me alone… mostly. But things were about to get screwed up by the woman who landed me the job in the first place. No, not Alice, Tanya.

She barged in like the doors weren't even there and leaned against the doorframe with a sexy smile.

"Hello Edward, miss me?" she purred, and I suddenly wondered if my fairytale day was about to be shattered to pieces by the wicked witch of the east… side that is.

**Yay. Fluff. Actually that was really mindless so the little extra is an apology for the crap you just read. Humor me. **

**oOo**

**Chapter Nine Answers:**

**jake.n.ash.n.edward**: ha ha! NEITHER! lol.

**Eli-the-Reader****:** Oh I don't know... I'd say in about five chapters... but don't take my word for it, I'm just the writer X)

**dollegirl**: Lost in the woods? Don't be silly! I'd just call upon all the woodland creatures that I've befriended. Who needs camping gear when you've got squirrels and irritable grizzlies!

**Bezzaletta**: Well you're my favorite Bezzie ever! Mike is Bella's creepy stalker ex. S'okay, I forget it myself sometimes!

**Crazily Sane Pancake**: I know that guy! We're probably related somehow...

**Chapter Ten Answers:**

**LolaluvsEdward**: I agree. I was getting pretty ticked at my Bella for taking so damn long to come around. Jeesh that girl is about as decisive as oatmeal.

**Janna B:** Why thanketh ye Janners!

**Lacrymosa Wolf**: WHOA! Lots of caps, you must mean buisness girly. Should I be afraid?

**mayalucille**: MAYA MY LOVE! It was terrible existing without you. I've decided that we should take a family vacation to Forks. Sound good? Call me babe. -giggle- This soul-mate stuff is fun!

**AllyR**: cough-next chapter- cough. I'm sorry, I seem to have come down with a bad case of Badsubtletyitis.

**caww**: I'll answer both your reviews in one post! WOW. Yuppers, Eddie is rather ticked at his dad because he thinks that they're unfair and whatnot. There. Now I feel better.

**Bezzaletta**: Wow. You get two answers Bezzlers. Bella hasn't met Carlisle because Alice isn't close to them herself, she was fighting with them from the BPI.

**Are all you psycho readers happy now? I got two sets of review replies done in one chappie! Feel free to ask me questions you guys, and I promise to answer them in a humorous and nice way. Later gaters. Enjoy the extra!**

**REVIEW!**

**oOo**

**Pop-tarts, Popsicles and Cookies OH MY (Carlisle that is :P )**

Alice was pacing, back and forth, back and forth. Bella was _still _M.I.A (missing in action) and Alice was still W.A.H (worried as hell.). So to distract herself, she walked over to the pantry overflowing with junk food and the juice Alice had been consuming in record levels and rooted around for something to entertain herself with.

First, she found the Pop-tarts. Need I say more?

Then she found Bella's mint gum stash. She grabbed an un-opened pack and stuck and stuck five pieces in her mouth at once. It took her exactly 6.5 chews to realize that five pieces of double mint is a _lot _of gum and it only took her 4.2 more chews to realize that her jaw felt like falling off from chewing so hard. So she spat the whole thing out in the trash with one massive heave from her delicate pixie mouth.

She raced back to the pantry, desperate to get the overwhelming taste of mint from her mouth and grabbed the first things she saw.

"Red box. Like that Balenciga bag I saw the other day." It was the only logic she needed to shove her hand into the box of popcorn, yank it out of the packaging and shove it in the microwave. She held her breath as the timer counted down.

_2:20_

_2:19_

_2:18_

_2:17_

It was taking too long.

_2:16_

_2:15_

_2:14_

It was still going too slow. Time was screwing with Alice, she just knew it.

_2: 13_

_2:12_

She grew bored of waiting for time, and instead, raced over to the fridge (it was closer) and foolishly stuck her hand in. It landed in the ice cube drawer and she yanked her hand back in surprise.

The refrigerator had teamed up with time, and now they were both messing with her, led by the Nazi Stalin of the whole operation, the ice cube drawer. She was sure of it.

_1:12_

_1:11_

_1:10_

_1:09_

She tried to look away and pretend she didn't really care about the popcorn, but then there was a loud _pop, _and Alice was in front of the microwave before you could say brain damage.

So for the last minute, she listened to the popping noises and pretended they were gunshots in the nineties movie that she and Bella were _supposed _to be watching.

There was a ding and the popcorn was done! No one but Alice could honestly become so genuinely elated by a bunch of corn that was heated up so much that it exploded from its kernel and was then coated in over processed butter that clogged arteries.

She stuck her hand through the steam and didn't even flinch as it burned her pale skin, or as she shoved a handful into her mouth in a very unladylike manner.

There was a knock at the door and she clutched the popcorn to her chest and leapt over the Pop-Tart boxes on the floor to the door. She threw it open dramatically, but it was only a gross delivery guy. Alice handed him the money and he handed her the food, pulling out a few fortune cookies from his coat pocket.

"Um… excuse me, could you give us some more cookies… please?" she begged. The man scoffed. "Please?" she tried again. He started to leave.

"Fine then! I don't even want them." she said hotly. He rolled his eyes, so naturally, Alice was forced to retaliate, and she reached into the popcorn bag and chucked a handful at him.

"What the hell?" he snarled.  
"The second battalion!" she cried, though she had no idea what it meant and pummeled him with another volley of popcorn.

"Would you quit that you psycho?" he snapped. Of course, neither Alice or the delivery guy saw Jasper appear behind him and put a menacing hand on his shoulder.

"Are you giving my psycho trouble?" he said in a truly menacing voice. The man looked scared, and rightly so.

"Well all I wanted was another cookie… or five." Alice said innocently. Jasper eyed the man hard, and he emptied the entire contents of his pockets into Alice's outstretched hands.

"Thanks!" chimed Alice as she examined her prize.  
"Sure." Said the man, and he bolted from the door.

"Thanks jazzy." Alice said bashfully, giving Jasper a big hug of welcome.

"I swear Alice, the things I do for you." I sighed with mock distain.

"And the things I do for cookies." Alice sighed back. "Come on in! I think Bella had popsicles in our freezer!" she laughed.

**Okay, so Jasper didn't really come, but this was just waaaaaaay too much fun to abide by the rules.**


	12. Loveliness

**Chapter Twelve**

**Thanks so much to the people who pre-read this story for me, I really appreciated their support! ****sprinter1****, ****asyouwish16. x3Biscuit, mayalucille and dollegirl, know that I owe you one.**

**Sorry it took so long… just a lot's been going on.**

**I borrowed a few quotes from the book, so maybe you'll recognize them!**

**oOo**

**Playlist: Clair de Lune, Debussy (duh)**

**oOo**

**:Loveliness: **

I could only gape with my mouth open as she strolled in like she owned the place.

She oozed confidence and even though it pained me to admit it, she looked fabulous. I didn't move from my position on the floor as she sauntered forward to Edward's desk, an arrogant smile on her perfect features.

Now I'm not a violent person, but right at that moment I wanted to break something. Or, I wanted telekinesis so I could make an explosion. A really huge explosion.

She sauntered up to Edward's desk as I sat helplessly on the floor, slowly ripping the paper in my hands to shreds. Edward looked up at her like he hadn't even noticed her presence in the room until she had draped herself across his desk. He looked down at her with a look of mild distain mixed with boredom in his eyes.

_Tanya_ however, was looking up at him like he was a piece of meat. I wanted to vomit.

"Ah Edward. I've missed you." She purred.

"Did you need something?" Edward said with a bored flick of his hand.

"Only to speak to you." She whispered. I coughed loudly and Tanya turned to glare at me. "Alone!" she hissed, not bothering to whisper anymore.

"Fine." I spat, my eyes narrowing. She merely adjusted herself so she was sitting on the edge of Edward's desk and crossed her legs. I might have been imagining it, but I could swear that there was some sort of arrogance in her movements, like she had some advantage to me that I didn't know.

I threw Edward a dark look as I marched out and was sorely disappointed when he didn't make some move to stop me.

I tried to sit at my desk first, but the thick mahogany doors were solid and imposing in my view. I quickly discovered that not knowing what was going on behind them was unbearable. So I left the office and made my way towards the stairs.

**oOo**

As I was ascending the stairs, I realized a truth that I had overlooked in my rash decision to go up to the roof:

Climbing stairs was only fun with Edward.

When I finally reached the top I had a bad blister from my shoes and my hair had fallen out of its carefully designed bun. I knew I looked bad, but I felt worse.

I almost missed the days when I wasn't infatuated with Edward Cullen. It would have been so much easier to convince myself that I wasn't insanely jealous and angry and that my heart wasn't broken in two pieces.

But then again, I half wondered if I would have ever believed myself. I had always known he was gorgeous, but then he had his random bouts of beauty that went so far beyond physical things. He had even won me over a little when I first heard that he had stood up to Alice, who could be very scary when enraged.

And then, as if I needed more problems, I was dying of curiosity. What could Tanya want? Edward had made it pretty clear that he didn't want to see her ever again. But on the flip side, I didn't take Tanya as a girl who took no for an answer very well.

Come to think of it… I didn't take no for an answer very well either. Maybe Tanya and I had more in common than I thought.

_Nah._

Finally I reached the roof, and I was happy for the blast of air that greeted me. It was refreshing, it was invigorating, it was cleansing, it was… _freezing_ cold! I suddenly knew where I needed to go, only I had no idea how to get there.

So I settled for wandering around. It couldn't be that hard!

Oh how wrong I was. The roof itself wasn't particularly large, but it was _covered _in shiny metallic vents and pipes which jutted out at odd angles and blocked my view. I weaved and dodged around them until I found a pathway which I followed until finally I came to the greenhouse.

It was like water in a desert, except it was a greenhouse on a freezing cold New York day. Same diff.

I pushed my way inside and breathed in the floral aroma and let it calm me down. I made my way back over to the sunny corner with the freesias. They were still there and were still lovely. I decided to replant them in a larger pot.

I didn't think anyone would mind, and I knew that if they were going to grow bigger, they would need a bigger pot. But besides my love of flowers, I needed something to distract myself, and doing things with my hands always made me happy.

I went over to a work station and picked up a new pot, a trowel and some dirt, then made my way back to the plant. I worked quickly and quietly, humming Clair de Lune to myself as the minutes passed easily.

I carefully pried the freesias from the pot they had been sitting in and set them gently down in the bigger pot. I made sure they were settled in the center and grabbed a handful of dirt and then another, setting it down in the empty space around the flowers.

Soon I had the whole pot filled with dirt, and the earthy smell overtook even the scent that the freesias that I loved so much. I was very pleased to have done something with my hands, and it gave me a very contented sense of accomplishment to see it sitting happily in front of me. I was picking up the watering can to give it a good dousing when a velvet voice behind me caused me to cry out in alarm.

"That's very beautiful." He said, and I knew who it was instantly. My good mood was soured as I remembered why I was up in the greenhouse to begin with.

"How did you follow me?" I said darkly.

"I didn't follow you Bella, I just guessed. This is where I run to as well, and you seem to do a lot of running." He said. I turned around from my flowers and glared at Edward.

"Go back to Tanya." I spat.

"Bella, I came up here to tell you that she left. It's okay to come back down." he said.

"What did she want?"

"She wanted to get back together." He answered simply.

"And?" I said, sounding much more interested than I wanted to.

"_And_ I told her to go jump off a cliff." He said with a small smile. "You know, you're quite adorable when you're jealous."

I bristled at his comment.

"Jealous?" I said incredulously.

"Very. But don't worry. If Tanya had wanted to get together with _you _I would have been extremely jealous too." He snickered.

"And so I'm suddenly a lesbian?" I snapped.

"No, but you're suddenly jealous." He laughed. I turned around again.

"Although," he said, and his voice was right in my ear. He was _right _behind me, so close that I could feel his presence raising hairs on my neck. "I can't say I mind it. For the longest time, I thought you were indifferent to me. It's quite refreshing, actually."

"Well don't get used to it." I said, but my breath came out breathy and off sounding.

"Why not Bella? Is it such a bad thing to like me?" he murmured, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"I can't…" I started, but I was unable to finish the sentence because Edward put another hand on my other shoulder and I was suddenly unable to think.

"You can't what?" he whispered.

"I can't think when we're so close together."

"Then don't think Bella, just feel." It was one of the corniest lines that I could have ever heard, but when Edward said it, it was beautiful and deep. I didn't think that Edward could have come out sounding corny if he _tried._

"What do you feel?"

"I feel… good." I breathed. It was probably the most impulsive thing I'd ever said, but it was also one of the truest (if not the most understated. I was verging on high).

"I feel good too Bella, and I want to tell you something." He whispered.

"Yeah?" I murmured, as he began rubbing circles in my shoulders.

"When I was talking to Tanya, I realized something. She made me look back and see what kind of people I surrounded myself with. It was… shocking. And then when I told her to get out, all I could really think about was talking to you again. I know… this might seem sudden, but I really realized how much I need you Bella. When you weren't there… it killed me to think that maybe I'd hurt you. I've _never _been considerate, but I felt like an ass for even letting her near me because it hurt _you_. And now I want to know something."

"Yes?" I said, my voice barely audible.

"Do you need me too?" he whispered. My breath caught in my throat and I felt dizzy.

_Yes, yes, yes you need him you idiot! _My brain was shouting at me, bringing up images of my life without him. I hadn't thought about it before, but to work somewhere else without his dry humor and pensive eyes, to never feel that flash of vulnerability when he saw through me, to never have a witty conversation with him again- it was a shockingly painful thought.

"I think… I think I need you too Edward." I whispered, turning around to face him. He smiled and his lucid emerald eyes met my brown ones.

"I've waited a long time to hear you say that." he said.

"Well I waited a long time to realize it." I said quietly. Edward reached around and hugged me gently, crushing me into his chest. I closed my eyes and breathed in, letting his strong arms hold me tight. It felt so right, so true that I didn't think twice when I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

If telling Edward that I felt good with him was the most impulsive thing I'd ever said, then kissing him on the cheek was the most impulsive thing I'd ever done.

He looked shocked but pleased and I leaned happily into his chest again.

"Bella, would you mind if I tried something?" he said.

"Sure." I said drowsily. I was delusionally happy and it was probably clouding my judgment but I didn't really care.

However, when he tilted my head up to look him in the eyes, I was suddenly completely focused, like I'd been doused with water. And when he leaned in and kissed me, I swear time slowed down.

All I could think about was the way my mind was cheering in my head and the way my heartbeat sped up, my blood racing. Of course I kissed him back. Being held by Edward didn't feel half as right as kissing him. It was the most mind-blowingly amazing kiss I'd ever had.

All my senses were supercharged, like they were suddenly powered by some outside force that gave them extraordinary clarity. I could feel everything about it, everything about _him._ The way his lips met mine in a sort of needy pull, like they'd been waiting for me. The way his body fit next to mine like a glove, like he'd been made to hold me. But mostly the way my body wanted him, needed him with me.

I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me and he gripped me tighter too. I never wanted to let him go. He lifted me off my feet and spun me around in a circle, still joined at the mouth. He pulled away from me and gave me the biggest smile I'd ever seen.

"I've wanted to do that since the day I met you." He said breathlessly. I simply laughed and kissed him again. And then, in a fairytale twist of luck, the sprinklers turned on and misted us with a gentle spray of water. We pulled apart and stared at the sky, letting the rain fall down around us. Water clung to my eyelashes and got in my eyes when I blinked. Edward noticed and reached out to brush it from under my eyes.

"Better?" he murmured.

"So, so much." I breathed, before I leaned forward and kissed him again, with no intention of ever letting him go.

oOo

**Tee hee! I've waited **_**soooooooooo **_**long to get to write that. **

**Okay the reviews were mixed by my pre-readers, there were some objections to cliché-ness, and believe me, I **_**know**_**. But we're on **_**FF**_**, the whole point is to rip off someone else's idea and write stuff like we were the genius writer who was intelligent to come up with it in the first place instead of bored would-be-writers working on our style or maybe just compliment fishing. Who knows? If I want a fairytale kiss in a greenhouse on a roof where the sprinklers come on, then god damit I'm gonna have one! **

_**-And now for something completely different-**_

**I finished breaking dawn! (No spoilers, promise.) and. It. was. amazing. Very shocking. If you've read it, drop me a line and tell me what you think :)**

**(And let it be known that I'm sorry for the long A/N, but I needed it.)**

**oOo**

Okay folks, this week, no review replies for you because it seems some of you are rather on the confused side and keep bombarding me with questions. Not that I mind, mind you, but I feel that I need to resolve some frequently asked questions.

**1. Does Edward know about Alice?**

-Nopity nope. He has no idea Bella has any tie to Alice.

**2. Has Bella met Esme?**

-Nopity nope again. Because of the BPI Alice isn't close to E/C as we know her to be, so they've never met.

**3. What about the letter?**

-Have you people no faith in me? Would I leave a gaping plot hole that big and not address it? Duh, he's gonna get it. So just eat a bagel and chillax for it. I like the revised version much better, and I'll be needing a pre-reader for that as well, but not yet. Edward will get it... one way or another.

**4. What the hell is wrong with Mike?**

- He's kinda screwy, that one. I'm not done yet, and maybe there will be a restraining order... maybe. I'm still mulling it over.

_There, that's my top 4 most asked questions. Got anymore? PM me or review :) _


	13. Openness

**Chapter Thirteen**

**You people confuse me. I get a new story all uploaded nice and pretty like, and then all the people come and put **_**this **_**story on alert instead! WTH? Oh well, it seems the world is trying to tell me something. -**_**sigh**_**- So here thou goest, a whole freakin chapter of fluff. Sorry for the delay. **

**oOo**

**Playlist: Coffee Break, Forever the Sickest Kids**

**oOo**

**:Openness:**

"No look. If you're tying convey the message of openness, you've got remove this paragraph where you talk about how you handle business problems. It makes you seem… scary and intimidating. Don't talk about retribution, talk about _contribution_. Feel good crap." I argued, leaning over his desk.

The mid morning sun shone in through the huge windows in Edward's office as we sat knee deep in papers again.

Lately, Edward had made me more than his secretary, I almost felt like an associate. He would tell me about whatever business deal he was working on and when he wrote up pitches and memos, he usually conferred with me, asking my opinions on this paragraph or this section, and what did I think about this proposition or so.

Jessica and Lauren in fact, had been handling most of the unimportant secretary things that I used to do. It gave me a sort of dark satisfaction to watch them fuss over his schedule and take care of his out-of-town guests. They had been too busy lately to be snobbish.

And of course, it was always fun when I would be in the middle of pouring over an eighty page memo and Edward would sneak up on me and kiss me, pouncing on me like an animal stalking it's prey.

Then of course, to get him back for catching me off guard, I would pull away and shake my finger at him.

"Why Mr. Cullen. We are in a place of business. One doesn't just go sneaking up on unsuspecting employees and kiss them furiously. It simply isn't done." I said, adopting a British accent and a stiff upper lip. He looked adorably frustrated, and I took the pen I'd been using and drew a big black heart on his palm.

"Are you trying to give me ink poisoning?" he muttered.

"Yes I am. And don't you dare wash it off." I smiled. He kissed me again and then went back to his papers.

It was about two thirty when my phone rang. I was sitting cross legged on the floor, leaning against the big bookshelf on the wall. I _had _been ordering office supplies, I _had _been doing my job, I _had _been trying to focus, but then Edward _had_ to come over and sit by me and then he _had _to kiss me and then I got completely distracted.

My arms were around his neck and he was leaning over me slightly. The loud, irritating polyphonic tone caused us to both groan as we pulled away and glared at my bag, vibrating next to us. I sighed and reached out to grab it.

Edward did not release his stony grip on me, and continued kissing my neck and shoulders as I tried to focus on answering my phone. I was so distracted in fact, that I failed to glance at caller ID.

"Hullo?" I giggled.

"Bella!" a deep voice said. I froze, every muscle tensing. Edward noticed and looked up at me sharply.

"Mike…" I whispered. I felt suddenly colder and shivered in Edward's arms.

"We need to talk. Especially about your new _boyfriend._" He spat the words. "Why aren't you saying anything?" he snapped.

"I… I…"

"Bella, what's the matter?" Edward asked, Mike snarled on the other end.

"Is that him? Is _he _the reason you can't talk to me?"

"What? No! I just-" I was getting paler by the second and it felt like my hands were frozen around Edward's neck.

"Is he bothering you? I'll kill him." he snarled again.

"What? No, no! Mike listen, you stay away from me and Edward!" I shouted. Edward was looking completely shocked at the violent pitch my voice was growing to. I wondered if he could sense the panic underneath the anger.

"Bella, who is that?" Edward hissed. I ignored him.

"And I'm _not _talking to or seeing you again, so you'd better leave me alone."

"Edward eh? Well, I'll come find you. I have to make sure you're okay, after that fall anyways." He murmured, so softly that it was almost scarier.

"Bella, _who is that?_" Edward wasn't bothering to whisper anymore.

"Oh, is that him? The boyfriend? I'd like to speak to him." Mike chuckled.

"Let me talk to him!" Edward said.

"No you cannot!" I shouted, answering them both at once.

"Tell me who that is!" Edward shouted.

"Mike, listen. I'm getting a restraining order. You're going to leave me alone. I'm not coming to talk to you, and if you come to me I swear to god I'll mace your ass so fast you won't even see me." I spat. Edward made a move to grab the phone from my hands so I made the decision to hang up. Let Mike think I was that mad.

"Who was that?" he shouted in frustration.

"That…" I sighed. I had really been hoping not to have to tell Edward about Mike. "That was Mike…. Ex boyfriend stalker extraordinaire."

"You… you have a stalker? Who is he? Where does he work? I'll take care of him." he said, his voice like ice as he contemplated ways to have Mike offed, and I knew that he could. I put my now freezing cold hands on his face.

"Deep breaths. Keep a level head okay? You're a very reactive person Edward, but I need you to _listen _to me." I said. He nodded tersely.

"_I _don't want you to do anything to Mike. I want you to promise me okay?" I said. He looked shocked.

"You don't want me to do anything?" he stuttered.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because… Mike is confused. He loves me, but he doesn't understand that threats don't get him anywhere. He might threaten me but-" I started. I knew I made a mistake when I said the word, threaten. His eyes lit up like a forest on fire.

"If he's threatening you then I'm doing something. I can't let you get hurt Bella." He said, standing up. I grabbed his hand but he was already moving to the phone.

"Reactive." I said simply. He looked up at me for a minute and paused.

"I… I know but… if he's… I want to listen but… I can't lose you!" he muttered, half to himself, half to me.

"I know it's hard, wanting something yourself and wanting to listen to reason, but lets pretend I'm _not _reason here. I'm your girlfriend. You care about me, I think you might love me." his eyes flashed, but I was too focused to stop. "And I know the desire to protect me is killing you, but please Edward, think about who you're trying to protect. How do you think I feel, watching you run around preparing to have a hit man do something to make my ex go away?" I said.

"I don't know!" he cried, throwing his arms in the air. "I never know with you because you're so… so… I can't understand you, you're complicated but straightforward. You don't lie, but I never know what the truth is. You smile at me, but I don't know what you're trying to hide underneath it, I just don't understand you!" he was shouting, and a small smile was creeping across my face. "And right now, I have _absolutely _no idea why you're smiling."

"Edward, you've been with a lot of really weird girls haven't you?" my simple question seemed to catch him off guard.

"What?"

"You don't know anything about being in an equal relationship do you? You think that I'm the only confusing one, but you're a mystery to me as well." I was laughing now.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, I have never been so confused by anyone in my entire life!" I laughed.

"Bella, you see right through me. You always have." He said. I tilted my head to the side in interest. "You knew exactly what I wanted from you on that first day, you knew what happened between Tanya and I, you knew I was totally intoxicated by you since the first day. I know you did." He murmured, looking away from me like he was ashamed.

"To be honest, I didn't think you even cared whether I lived or died when I first started working. I didn't even realize you liked me at all until you _told _me so in the hospital, and that's when I realized that I had fallen for you."

"For someone so perceptive, you sure missed that one. I hired you because I thought you would want to date me, and then when you didn't, I kept you on because you could keep up with me. That had never happened before. And you weren't afraid of me, I wanted to know _why_. You slipped through all my defenses, and when you hit your head, I realized that I was like a lovesick puppy who was too proud to follow you around and too confused to understand why _you_ didn't follow _me_. And then Tanya came back and showed me what I had lived like and how different I was. And then I thought, _oh, that was Bella wasn't it? _And it was."

He was sitting in front of me know, still staring at the floor.

"And _now, _I'm actually talking about my feelings, which is a big deal… for me." he murmured.

"You… I… had no idea." I whispered. Finally, he looked up at me, scorching me with his gaze. I smiled, for once not deterred by them.  
"You're never going to be rid of me now, you know." I said. He smiled.

"That's fine by me." he agreed, pulling me to him. "But… I still want to kill your ex."

I flinched. "Sorry." He said.

"Please Edward, don't." I tried my hand at dazzling _him, _locking my gaze on his and trying to look intense and passionate, not a hard thing to do after Edward's life altering speech. He looked away and I took that as a sign of success.

"Bella… would you believe me if I told you that this is killing me?" he said, pained.

"Am I worth it?" I breathed.

"Dammit!" he said under his breath. "Of course you're worth it you stupid girl!" he sighed. I smiled, there was the Edward I knew.

"Alright then stupid boy. Don't kill my stupid ex."

"I- alright, but I have some terms." He said.

"Name 'em Cullen."

"You don't go out alone at night, keep a cell with you at all times and I get to drive you to work in the mornings and home from work in the evenings." He said.

"What does that last one have to do with anything?" I mused.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "But, while we were negotiating, I thought about what else I might get out of it."

"You're going to get sick of me." I sighed.

"Can you get sick of eating?" he countered.

"Yes, it's called anorexia." I said. He laughed.

"Then I'll become a stress eater, because you're my food and I'm using a lot of you lately."

"Fine, just stay away from Bulimia. If you're not going to eat me, that's fine, just don't eat me and then throw me up. Ew." I shuddered.

"Alright. You be my food then."

"Only if you're my air." I countered.

"Alright, just don't quit breathing."

"I promise. I've no intention of running off and holding my breath until the end of eternity." I agreed. He laughed.

"Is that how it works?" he said quietly.

"How what works?" I asked.

"How people work through things?" he said. I nodded enthusiastically.  
"And also how you talk about what's bothering you, so it doesn't fester and eat at you." I said. He smiled.

"Where would I be without you Dr. Swan?"

"My, I've gotten quite a few new identities today. Food, Dr. Phil, stalk-ee. It's been a big day." Then I laughed and he kissed me again.

And it had been a big day. Edward had actually worked through something with me, and we'd worked it out. I went home happy and contented, Edward dropping me off in front of the apartment. He kissed me goodbye and I walked into my apartment, unaware of the shadowy figure who'd been watching me the whole time.

**oOo**

**Okay, so Mike isn't going to pull anything yet, I'm just showing you that he's following her. Thanks for all the reviews you guys! We're so close to 300! That's so amazing! I'm so happy! AAHHHHHH!! When we hit 300, EVERYONE who helped us to get there by reviewing will get their review answered. Even if you just typed out like… update, I'll respond. **

**oOo**

**ellabella13**: You flatter me dahling :) Lol. That was nice to say, and I'm happy that everyone didn't find it Disney cliche.

**blindbookworm**: Bagels are good, I like em! And Bella doesn't want to press charges against Mike because she just doesn't like to cause trouble for people, even him. Plus, with the divorce thing, she's a little bit afraid of going to court.

**Libertine-skins**: Woah, you've got strength. I had to wait to read it too, but I had to stay off my computer all day just in case I caved and read it. Mad props to you!

**toxicwaffles**: Well I did, I liked it. It was nice, and the pedophile thing creeped me out as well... shudder.

**LiGiKi**: HA! BD joke!!

**secretly someone else**: Oh ya babe, I cried. Totes, don't feel ashamed, embrace it's tear-jerky ness.

**edwardluver925**: Well I'm glad to have restored your faith in humanity.

**ahhelga**: Cool name, btw, but thanks! I'm happy.

**OfficiallyDazzled**: That is the best set of adjectives I've ever seen. THanks!


	14. Calmness

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Oh my god!! We did it!! I LOVE YOU! Yes you. -hugs- Now everybody dodge the cookies I'm happy-chucking at you! Cause if they hit you kittens, you know I'm not liable for any health issues that may result. Ah! I'm going to be running around in circles again, if anyone's interested!! **

**oOo**

**Playlist: Long Time Coming: The Delays**

**oOo**

**:Calmness:**

I wrapped my coat around me tighter as I shuffled down the frozen street. The flowers in my arms probably liked the cold even _less _than I did, but I was too excited to care about them much. I was going to Edward's apartment! I could barely contain my excitement.

Of course, he wasn't exactly expecting me, but I knew how to get in. Okay, so maybe I was certain he wasn't going to be there, but I had a plan. He had given me the keys to his apartment for emergencies (I'd given him mine too, just to be polite) and I decided to use the privilege.

The bag on my arm swung back and forth like a pendulum, filled with the various objects I would be using for my project. Finally I got to his building and used my key to get in. It was cool and quiet in the large modern building. I got to the elevator and the doors shut, trapping me in the metal space that smelled like expensive cologne.

His apartment was all the way at the top, the penthouse actually, but I tried not to think about that. My packages suddenly seemed to feel heavier as I got closer to the top. It was almost like the days when I had been nervous to come into the office. I fought back the urge to laugh.

_What was funny anyways? The fact that you're about to sneak into Edward's apartment, shamelessly taking advantage of his trust, spare key and kitchen? Yeah Bella, totally hilarious. _

I stepped out of the elevator, aware that my heels were the only sound in the small hallway outside his front door, took a deep breath, and walked into his apartment.

His apartment was gorgeous. It was modern, with high ceilings and leather furniture that was immaculately clean. There was no clutter anywhere, and the spectacular views from the floor to ceiling windows eliminated the need for any art.

I felt like I didn't belonged. My wool peacoat with my pink t-shirt and jeans seemed too colorful in the clean white space. I shuffled on my feet for a second, not sure what to do with myself. Did I take my shoes off? Would it be rude to hang my coat up?

I shook myself, forcing myself to relax. I decided that since I was throwing him a little surprise evening, I had every right to make myself at home. Besides, he could hardly be mad at me when I showed him my surprise.

I took off my coat and shoes and walked barefoot into the house, my mind set on the task at hand.

**Edward's POV**

My head hurt, and music wasn't helping it. Bella had left early, claiming she had a headache or something. She had a look in her eyes that made me wonder if she was up to something, but as usual, I had _no _idea what she could possibly be up to. I had more pressing issues crowding my head anyway.

The elevator ride up was too quiet, and I longed to hear something familiar. I didn't feel like being alone tonight. I thought vaguely about calling Bella, but she had a headache… or did she? I didn't know, and thinking about all this was too confusing. She always left me guessing.

I opened my apartment door with a heavy heart, and was immediately attacked by something small and warm. I let out a hoarse cry of alarm, before my attacker kissed me on the lips, her radiant smile positively obliterating the headache and her bell laugh cheering me up like happy pills never could.

"Bella!" I said delightedly.

"Surprise!" she murmured.

"Surprise indeed, I should have seen this coming somehow huh." I said. She pulled away and I unwillingly set her down. She looked effortlessly adorable, her brown hair pulled up into a messy bun which slightly obscured her sparkling chocolate eyes. A brightly colored floral apron matched the pink t-shirt and jeans she was wearing and there was a small smudge of flour on her pale cheeks.

"Been into my flour I see?" I said. She laughed.

"Yup, and the sugar too. I baked you a pie." She giggled.

"You cook?" I asked as she yanked my briefcase from my hand and staggered under it's weight.

"Does that- oof- surprise you?" she asked, walking a few steps before setting it down and panting.

"It's just, I wouldn't take you for the domestic type." I chuckled, taking off my coat and hanging it up. I could see Bella's coat next to mine, and it seemed so small. She never came off as small, but her size was the last thing you considered when looking at Bella.

"Well I wouldn't take you as a man who has _English rosemary extract_ in his cupboards." She snickered. I smiled embarrassedly.

She grabbed my hand and kissed the fading ink heart penned on it.

"Welcome home." She murmured.

"You know what Bella?" I asked.

"What?"

"You fit." I said simply. She smiled again, and dragged me into the kitchen to see her pie.

I couldn't help but laughing when I saw what she'd done to my kitchen.

An array of multicolored wildflowers sat in an overflowing vase on the island. Several cookbooks lay open on the countertop and a thin layer of flour seemed to cover every surface. Ingredients lay open and waiting on the countertop and there was an absolutely mouthwatering aroma coming from the oven.

It still looked like my kitchen, but she'd worked her Bella charm on it, making it feel more homey and lived in than I had in two years of living there. It was like what she'd done to the office, nothing had changed really, but she'd done little things. A glass ornament hanging from the window, a picture of a sunset on the wall, a smiley face sticker on her nametag, just little things that made a difference.

Bella walked back over to the cookbook and I noticed the chicken on the cutting board, an assortment of herbs waiting to coat them before she put them in the oven.

"Oh it's no use. I'm a terrible cook." She sighed. I went and looked into the oven at the pie and laughed.

"A terrible cook? Bella, this looks absolutely amazing." It was golden brown and belonged on the cover of Martha Steward magazine.

"Well thanks a lot there Ed, but pies and breads are one thing, I'm terrible with meat. I like pasta better." She sighed.

"Tell you what, I'll do the chicken, you sit and talk to me."

"Fine by me, I'm considering being a vegetarian anyways." She laughed as she plopped down on the barstool. I washed my hands and then went on to preparing the chicken.

"So, you broke into my apartment I see?"

"I resent that term Edward. I prefer the term _visited_." She simpered.

"And… did you visit the whole apartment?" I asked. She blushed.

"Well I walked into your bathroom, saw a bottle of freesia perfume with the tag still on it and then went no further." She laughed.

"You saw that? Damn." I muttered.

"If it's any consolation, I love the smell." she giggled.

"How do you know it's for you?" I said slyly.

"Because no girl in her right mind would _ever _date you Mr. Cullen, except me that is." She said.

"I don't believe anyone ever said you're in your right mind."

"I don't believe anyone ever said that I accepted the gift it either." She countered, still smiling.

"But of course it's for you, and of course, I'll just mail it to you if you don't except it. Then you'd have no choice but to keep it."

"Not really. I could just stick it in my blender and make a freesia and glass perfume." She said playfully.

"Oh ha ha." I said dryly, and she slapped my hand.

"Well since I can see how much you care, I would be delighted to accept your perfume." She said stiffly, extending her hand for me to kiss. I leaned over and kissed her on the lips instead. She pushed against me, but I just wrapped me arms around her, shoving the chicken out of the way so I could kiss her over the counter.

"Mr. Cullen, you have raw chicken on your hands." She objected, her lips moving against mine. I just kissed her some more.

"Fine." She said. "But if I get salmonella then you're so paying Cullen."

"Totally worth it." I muttered.

**Bella's POV**

"Hey Bells, wait." He said. I grinned. He'd never called me Bells before.

"Yeah?" I said, sticking my head back into the car to see him. His face was illuminated only by the glowing dashboard of his Volvo.

"Thanks." He said.

"Just don't eat all that pie Cullen. I don't know if fat will suit you very well." I giggled.

"No, just for coming over. It… it made me really happy." He said. I threw him a small smile.

"No problem Edward." I gave him a chaste kiss before shutting the door and trotting inside. I didn't miss the fact that he waited to drive off until I was safely in the elevator.

**oOo**

"Bella. Sit." Alice said. I would have been nervous, but I knew there was nothing to fear… right? Our apartment had no windows facing the street where Edward dropped me off, she couldn't have seen us. _If that's the case, why am I suddenly feeling panicked? _

I plopped down on the couch. I was finding it difficult to stay calm, panic flowing through me like water in a current that was trying to drag me down.

"Okay, Alice, I think I know what you're about to say-" I started.

"Why aren't you pressing charges against Mike?" she said.

"Oh." I said. The relief flowing through me was so pronounced that Alice noticed.

"Is there something _else _that I should be worrying about?" she asked shrewdly. I tried hard not to flinch as she scrutinized me.

"No." I said innocently.

"Hmm. Well, then answer the question please." She said patiently.

"Well, first can you tell me how you found out?" I said slowly.

"Mike was here, and I've decided we need to get our locks changed. Really Bella, why didn't you take his key?" she moaned. I slapped my forehead. He had keys to my apartment and he had actively threatened me on the phone. Grrrreeeaaattt.

"He talked to you?" I asked.

"Well actually, he shouted at me as Jasper came and punched his lights out before throwing him out. You should have heard him." she shuddered. I felt instant regret as I moved to give my pixie best friend a hug.

"I'm so sorry you have to deal with this." I murmured. "Maybe you should go stay with Jasper for a while."

"Are you nuts? His closets are _much _too small." She said easily. "Besides, I need your help. I had to go by the club on the way home from the store and some people I knew waved at me, and I had to get out of there… it's hard… this mellow thing."

"Oh Alice, I'm so proud of you." I said, squeezing her tighter.

"But guess what? I'm a whole two weeks sans partying!" she laughed.

"You know what we need?" I said.

"Old eighties movies?" she said hopefully.

"And a hell of a lot of Girl Scout Cookies." I added.

"You get the cookies, I get the movies." She said. I smiled and went to the kitchen. I pulled the boxes out, deliberating between Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties before grabbing them both with a shrug of defeat. Those twelve year olds had us at their mercy as they went door to door. I was about to leave when I decided to put on some of Edward's perfume.

A quick spritz, and I was flopping down on the couch. Alice leaned over and sniffed my shoulder.

"Mm. I like that. New perfume?"

"Yeah."

"It seems… familiar somehow…" she muttered.

"Really?"

"Yeah…" she said. Then movie started playing, and soon we were both focused on something else. The male hero in this particular drama was particularly handsome… in an eighties sort of way of course, but still… a ripped guy jumping through badly CGed fire was still fun.

But he couldn't compare to Edward.

Alice might have been celebrating two weeks sober, but I was celebrating a week with a brand new addiction, a rather dangerous one at that.

It felt like I was dancing through life, swirling so fast that things got lost in the background and people and places blurred together in the dark corners of my view. I was happy to be dancing, but I was afraid to slow down and face the people the shadows had hidden.

And now that Mike was back, suddenly I was dancing around a big swirling hole in the floor. I could get so close to it, but I always managed to skirt the edges. The angry blackness of the hole could only see me, and I remained untouchable, I just had to keep dancing.

But I knew sooner or later I _had _to stop, and then what? Would the angry shadows push me into the hole, or would I somehow push my way past them all and hope I didn't fall over from the sudden lack of motion? I didn't know.

"You know what's funny?" Alice said, looking at me curiously.

"What?"

"That perfume, remembered I why it smelled so familiar. Esme has that exact same one. I'd know it anywhere." She said, turning her attention to the TV.

"Really? Small world." I muttered. Small indeed… a small smile crept across my face. Somehow I didn't think his choice of freesia perfume was coincidental.

**oOo**

**Objective POV**

He could see her, his vantage point from parking lot across the street gave him good enough view. Of course, the binoculars helped too. She and the pixie one were talking, and he could see her face. She looked nervous.

After a while, she hugged the pixie and they ended up watching a move.

Anyone else might have found watching her boring, but he was too concentrated. He needed to know her schedule, wait for the perfect moment to act.

The blonde man was just a minor setback, he still had the key. Even if that didn't work, he was strong, he could just break in.

Her eyes were closing, he could see she was dozing. The pixie like one turned and lightly shoved a cookie in her mouth and she jolted awake. She said something he couldn't hear then laughed.

He missed her laugh. It was beautiful and pure, like water running or bells. Was it so bad to want to see her again? He didn't understand why she was avoiding her, but he suspected that damn Cullen had something to do with it.

But he would get her away from him soon enough. She didn't take his threats seriously, but she would. She would see, he would be certain to open her eyes.

**oOo**

**Haha! I'm still ecstatic! I updated the fastest like….. ever. **

**And I need to give a shout out to Sarkule who went and read and reviewed _every single one _of my stories. Hats off to you mate. **

**Here's the responses!**

**oOo**

**Twilightgirl1918**: Better! She's going to release the entire pack of werewolves on him! (kidding. Too bad it's too late in the story to introduce any more major characters. Sigh.)

**Singing Tree**: I will indeed! This was my fastest update ever, aren't you proud of me?

**ellabella13**: I'll give you a hint. It starts with a C and ends with an eeper.

**Teeneypixie95**: YES MAM!

**kaosgurl00**: I'm rather proud of the shadowy part, it's very... emo? But not.. it's like an emo muffin. I'm aware that they don't really exist, it's just I'm really tired and it's 1 in the morning. Sigh.

**ScarboroughFairy**: Well that was one of the nicest reviews I've ever gotten! And so thourough... wonderful and lovely kitten! PS. Your english is wonderfulrific.

**Libertine-skins**: Bella hasn't got much talent with the whole dazzling thing, I agree :) Alice wasn't the shadow figure, though she's going to figure out that something's south of normal pretty quick here. I updated one hour into the next day, how cool is that! And the best part? I'll probably update again before Thursday too. YAY!

**l1ttle-vamp1re**: Ah! Don't pout! I can't resist the puppy dog eyes! They're rendering me senseless! She's pulling a Renesmee on me! HELP!

**Kimkizna**: Thankies! I love an overprotective Edward too.. so very... alluring.

**emmett edwardlover12**: I'm sorry! But lucky for you, l1ttle-vamp1re up there already gave me the puppy dog eyes, I'm completely obedient now. Lol.

**blindbookworm**: Bella's being stubborn isn't she? Sigh. Stupid Bella. Why can't I control your personality? Damn those characters, having a set personality!! CURSES!!

**OBlossom**: Confuse me? Whatever do you mean? I'm not confused am I? Well now I am. I'm confused to whether or not I'm confused. Right? So I'm confused about the confusion if I'm confused. AH! My brain is shutting off.

**mayalucille**: Soon my love. Oh and by the way, about the puppy dog thing up there, you're the only one who will ever control my HEART!

**TotalTwilightAddict**: Woohoo indeed kitten. It's a lovely thing :) lol.

**CullensMyLife**: Did that do it for you? It was about as fluffy as it can get.

**UrJustAsSaneAsIAm**: Feeeeeelings, that's a song isn't it? I forget.

**asyouwish16**: You're soooo close.

**sli723**: I know! I'm freaked out too. He's coming for me!! -runs away-

**gemini169**: Can do, lol.


	15. Maskless

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Oh dear kittens. A few good reviewers have pointed out to me that I've not updated this story for two weeks. -is shocked- WHA? **

**Gah, I'm sorry this one gets updated the slowest (though it has the biggest following) it's just, this story is **_**hard **_**to write. The characters are complex, the plot is still sketchy in my mind, and to top it all off, school started again. So I'm sorry!**

**I hope this makes up for it, because… damn it was hard to write.**

**oOo**

**Playlist: Dutch Courage, The Spill Canvass **

**oOo**

**:Maskless:**

My head was swimming as I dozed, and I slumped against Edward's shoulder as he sat on the floor, reading.

I was only semi-conscious, and completely unaware of the way Edward smiled at me out of the corner of his eye. If I were awake, I would have wondered why on earth a memo about waste reduction could be making him _smile _like that.

He nudged me gently.

"Hey Bells, up and Adam." He murmured.

"Quiet, you." I said, my voice rising in a pathetic attempt at anger.

"Come on. Up. It's time to go home." He said, nudging me again.

"Oi, quit it. If I want to sit here and drool on you, god damnit I'm going to." A yawn interrupted me.

"That's all very adorable and all, but we've already stayed an hour later than we were supposed to. Now do you _want _a janitor walking in on us?"

"So, sleeeepy." I drawled, my eyes closing again.

"Why are you so tired anyway?" he chuckled.

"Oh, I… um, nightmares." I lied.

In truth, nightmares would have been a relief. Nightmares only plagued you in sleep, they went away as soon as you opened your eyes. If all else failed, you could simply not sleep, and enjoy the sanctuary of daylight.

But I was faced with a much bigger dilemma, one that _didn't _go away in daylight. In fact it did the opposite, it got worse.

It kept calling me, leaving me messages and clogging up my inbox. I was looking into blocking Mike, I just _had _no idea how. The service wasn't advertised anywhere, and I didn't know how to go about it.

Of course it wasn't like I could ask Edward for it, then he'd really lose it. And Alice had been so busy with her AA meetings and her job, I didn't want to bother her.

I had a date with Google when I got home.

But I still wasn't sure if you could block someone off a _landline_, another source he used to talk to me. I was getting really pissed when I actually _listened_ to one of the messages.

Then I got scared.

He was physically threatening me, and worse, he dragged Alice and Edward into it. He said he just wanted to have a face to face chat, something I was sure I did _not _want to go to.

I was stalling, and it was a cowardly of me, but I just didn't know what to do.

Stresses kept popping up.

Not only did I have to deal with Mike, I had to keep Edward from finding out about him so that he didn't go and hire some hit man to throw him off a dimly lit pier somewhere, while simultaneously keeping him from finding out that I was rooming with his sister, and also keeping aforementioned pixie in the dark about the fact that I was head over heels for her brother.

Never mind the fact that I'd kept it from both of them for almost three weeks solid now, I didn't even know which would be worse, facing an angry boyfriend and a recently sober best friend or a psycho stalker ex.

_Then_ I realized that the envelope, the letter that Alice wanted me to give to Edward when I'd first met him, was sitting un-opened in my bag, _STILL_.

I'd completely forgotten it, and things just seemed to keep spinning out of my control. Alice had said I could give it to him when the time was right, but how long did that actually give me? It was hardly ever going to be the right time now that I was hiding the fact that Alice and I were roomies.

I had a hunch which conclusion Edward would jump to if I gave it to him now. I shivered violently in his arms and let him assume I was cold.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest, kissing my neck. I giggled and kissed him on the lips. For a few moments it was enough to make out with Edward Cullen and pretend I was like any other secretary in love with her boss.

**oOo**

It was dark when Edward drove me home.

We were talking about our current favorite bands, debating the differences between Death Cab for Cutie and Brand New. My phone rang, and Alice's smiling face flashed on the caller-id screen. I took a deep breath and answered it, throwing Edward a cautious glance.

"Hello?" I said.

"BELLA!" chimed Alice. I held the phone a few inches from my face to escape severe eardrum damage.

"Hello there… um… Al." I stuttered.

"Well hi to you too um… Bill. Now while you're here, can you stop and get groceries? We need pop-tarts… ASAP." She said briskly.

"Pop tarts?" I muttered, confusion lacing my words.

"Don't ask." She assured me.

"Um, sure, pop-tarts… okay." I muttered. I could see Edward snickering next to me.

"Who's that laughing?" Alice said. I blanched.

"I'm… I've gotten a ride home." I blustered.

"With who?" Alice said slowly. There was a dangerous edge of curiosity to her voice.

"Um… a guy." I said. Edward stopped laughing.

"Do I know him? Is he cute?" Alice gushed. I sighed a brief sigh of relief.

"Um, yes. He's totally gorgeous Al." I assured her, half to appease her wild curiosity and half to reassure Edward that I thought he was gorgeous and that Al wasn't a guy friend.

"Oh! That's so great! Tell me more." She gushed.

"Well, he's got these absolutely amazing eyes and he styles his hair just right so that it falls all loose in his face. And he smiles at me and it feels like I'm on fire." I said coyly. I saw Edward grin and grab my hand.

"I'll tell you more later okay?" I said.

"I'll be waiting." She said. I hung up the phone and beamed at Edward.

"Can you drop me off at the corner store instead of my apartment? I want to get something." I said.

"Well… just don't rob any convenience stores Swan. I think that would make me an accomplice." I rolled my eyes and leaned in for a goodbye kiss. What I didn't expect, however, was for him to abruptly grab my shoulders and pull me towards him so that I was draped unceremoniously over the center console, kissing him furiously while my spine was twisted into the shape of a lopsided L. Not that I noticed of course. Spinal damage was the last thing on my mind.

The son of a doctor really should not have been so inconsiderate of my health. Not only was he damaging my nervous system, but he was seriously cutting off my air supply.

My shoes pressed against the door as I struggled to get somehow closer to him. I was aware of my foot making contact with my bag, pushing it into the corner. His hands were at the small of my back, pulling me up and over so that I was hardly touching the car at all. The physical contact was overwhelming.

I groaned softly, pulling away to gasp at air.

"Holy crap Cullen. Can you give me some warning next time you decide to tackle-kiss me? I thought I was going to pass out!" I gasped.

"You didn't really seem to mind at the time." He snickered huskily.

"Just for that, I'm leaving right now." I said, and his laughter cut off. He frowned an adorable pout that left my reserve wavering, and so I quickly shimmied out of his grasp and out of the car.

"Bella!" he moaned.

"Bye Edward." I said, smiling. He shook his head sadly and smiled a tiny smile before he drove off, watching me in his rear-view mirrors as I skipped into the store.

**oOo**

_Pop-tarts. Pop-tarts. Hmm. _

I was having trouble deciding on which flavor. I was no decent judge of partially hydrogenated snack foods that clogged arteries, I just knew that Alice needed sugar.

I started to grab my phone, wanting to call her, when I nearly dropped both boxes and threw up right there in that badly lit convenience store a few blocks from my apartment.

_I'd left my bag in Edward's car. _

"Shit." I breathed.

Logic screamed at me. _Relax Bella! What possible reason would Edward have to look through your purse? He's not a creepy stalker like Mike. What would he want? To smell your handkerchief? Well he wouldn't, because he isn't a creeper and you don't even have a handkerchief, this is the twenty first century, no one does! What the hell kind of logic would that be? Get it together!_

But the desire to run after Edward's Volvo and bang on the door until he handed me over the leather handbag that kept the darkest secret I had at the moment hounded at me.

The boxes clattered down around me, and two identical muffled cardboard thuds resounded in the suddenly claustrophobic isle. I slid to a seated position on the floor, letting my head rest between my knees as I tried to breathe deeply. I couldn't _handle _any more stress. It was too draining, and I realized lately that I'd been coughing- a sure sign that I was getting sick. I couldn't let myself get worked up now.

I'd read somewhere that stress affects the immune system, and only now did I take it seriously. I had to come clean pretty quick here before I came down with pneumonia.

That would be so like me.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and put the boxes back on the shelf. With no purse, I had no money… at least I wouldn't get mugged. But if I did… I had no cell phone to call for help… or my mace.

Damn.

I though briefly about using the store phone to call Alice or Jasper or someone I knew… perhaps someone with a glock… but I didn't want to bother them. It was one block, I could dodge trouble for that long… right?

**oOo**

By the time I could see my apartment building, I was relieved. More than relieved, I was ecstatic. It wasn't in my nature to be paranoid, but with too many creepers wandering around lately, I liked to imagine that my fears were justified.

Shadows seemed to leap out at me from every corner and alley I passed. Figures on the street ceased to be people, but mindless assassins all waiting to attack me. Any noise I heard was a gunshot, any car driving by was going at least three times too fast, the sound of my own _footsteps_ seemed to echo around me like there was an identical set close behind me, waiting for me to turn around to grab me.

It got so bad that I had to count my breaths until my footsteps and my racing heartbeats blended together, mixing with the tempo of my forcibly steady breathing.

Yes, the sight of my apartment building was quite a relief. The dim lights of the lobby shone like a beacon, and my footsteps broke out of the carefully constructed rhythm I'd worked so hard to achieve as I sped up.

Almost immediately, my footsteps seemed to echo again. I frowned at my stupid behavior. I was Bella Swan, I was tough and strong, not one to freak out. To prove to myself that I was being ridiculous, I stopped, waiting for the silence that would follow.

But it didn't come.

My footsteps continued to echo around me, spinning faster. But they _weren't_ echoing, it was an another set of feet hit that the ground, coming much too fast and much too close to be anyone but someone running- running fast. And as the footsteps that I suddenly realized were _very _real approached me from behind, my heart stopped beating and my blood turned to ice.

He barely had to hit me over the head before I passed out, the sidewalk spinning up to meet me. I didn't hear the resounding crack I knew my ankle made as it re-broke and my last conscious thought bounced sickeningly around in my head.

"_Damnit. He won." _

**Edward's POV**

There wasn't much more to life- I reasoned.

I had Bella, my job, money, a good car, what else could matter? Nothing. It seemed like natural logic to me, if you have everything you need and everything you want, then add in a girl you didn't see coming at all, are you in any position to be anything but happy?

Hardly.

And yet the persistent knowledge that something was wrong with my life plagued me. I sifted through all the things that could possibly be wrong.

Was I sick? No.

Angry? Oddly, no. I hadn't been lately.

Sad? Nope.

Then what? Esme's face flashed in my head and the answer tore through me like a wave.

Guilt. I was guilty. When had that happened? Since Bella? Since Rosalie?

I didn't know.

I shut it out, tried not to think about it. I closed my eyes as I sat at the intersection. There was an annoying beep that jolted me from my thoughts. I instinctively reached for my Blackberry, only to realize that it was turned off.

Something beeped again, but I was distracted by the light changing. As the car roared to life, it beeped again. I frowned. It came from the floor of the passenger seat. And then I saw it.

The worn leather bag- Bella's worn leather bag. I reached for it, intent on silencing the phone, perhaps peeking at whoever it was that called her, but it stopped, and I relaxed.

I had no excuse to pry anymore.

_Oh well, _I thought, _now I have an excuse to drop by Bella's for the evening. _With a satisfied smile, I wheeled the car around and began the drive to Bella's apartment.

**Alice's POV**

Jasper had always said I had a tendency to overreact, a flair for the dramatic, if you will. However, the extents I wouldn't go to for my best friend for overcame any attempt of mine at thinking rationally.

She was over an hour late. I understood that she stayed at work late sometimes, but she hadn't called me… and now I was starting to worry.

Fitfully, and too anxious to sit still, I stood at walked over to the table by the door. I dialed Bella's number on my phone just as the ancient, metallic creaking noise of the lift assaulted my ears.

With relief, I could hear it screech to a stop on our floor, and in the silence that followed, I could hear the ringing noise of a cell phone on the other side of the door.

The phone still on my ear, I opened the door with a sigh of relief, only to come face to face with the last person I'd expected.

Edward was standing in my doorway, holding Bella's cell phone in one hand and her purse in the other as he stared at me with blatant shock on his face.

"What the hell?" we both shouted at the same time.

**oOo**

**Twilightgirl1918**: Well now I feel like an ass, because that was the longest delay I've ever done. sigh. I'm sorry.

**bellsaway**: Aw thanks! I'm a sucker for comments on my writing, and yours was very sweet Couch against the wall... lol. That'd be something. Little pixie Alice and Bella shoving their couch against the front door. HA!

**bloodsinger**: No babe, believe me, she was worried. Perhaps I didn't make that clear enough though...

**3pointheartbeat**: Wait... punch his lights out for an eternity? Are you asking me to turn Mike into a vampire? -GASP- No way jose. Not. Gonna. Happen. Ew. Who would want Mike around for an eternity? EW!

**lizziebear**: If Bella lets him... she's kinda stubborn... and a proud feminist... and very loud... hm... I'm sensing an oncoming problem.

**dramarules**: Deprived... sigh. We're all deprived after BD. Sucks. Anyways I hope this helps! It's like a watered down version of our Twilight drug.

**Emily Jane Cullen**: Restraining order. Wait... I sense that wasn't the direction you were going... oh wells.

**x1XPretzelLuvrX8x**: Wow. All of it? In one day? Crazy mad props.

**xoxvivisxox(anon)**: Thank you kitten! AN means author's note, lots of people say it. It's the long (veeeeery long) notes I have in the beginning and sometimes end of the chapters.


	16. Truthless

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Not even wasting time up here. Just read kittens. **

**oOo**

**Playlist: Come Home, One Republic**

**oOo**

**:Truthless:**

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_!"

What did I have to lose by swearing at the top of my lungs? I was locked in a supply closet, and Mike wasn't near. If he was, I told myself, I didn't care. He could hear me shouting my mouth off for all I cared.

I pounded loudly against the door some more, slamming my fists into the metal walls like I had any chance of freeing myself. I didn't. The walls were too sturdy. I cursed the thick metal bolts that held the otherwise thin pieces of metal together. It was their fault I was locked in a closet.

I collapsed on the metal floor and gently slid my feet out of my shoes. With a choking sigh, I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. My head flopped limply down onto my kneecaps and my breath came in short, ragged gasps.

My fighting spirit was failing me.

_Keep breathing Bella. Keep breathing. One step at a time. We can do this-_ The internal chatter in my head wasn't helping. It couldn't break down the door of the metal janitors closet I was trapped in and it couldn't calm me down.

The ironic part? I _knew _the cabinet. I could tell you exactly where to find the piles of paper and pencils on the shelf above my head, and the hangers that clattered and banged together when I moved had once held my coat and scarf.

I was in my old office building, a few doors down from my old office actually. I had a general sense of where I was, Mike was a fool for putting me in such a recognizable place when he moved me here.

Of course I wasn't about to point out his stupidity, I was too busy pretending to be unconscious in his arms.

When I'd come around, we were moving through the dark, and I was aware that we were moving _fast_.

After a sudden blast of air conditioning, and a quick peek from under my eyelashes, I realized that we'd entered Mike's deserted office and he'd flopped me roughly down on his desk.

I'd held perfectly still, pretending to be dead.

Then he exited the room, whipping out his cell phone, and I was left to my own devices. The first thing I did was to survey the damage.

My ankle was broken, I had a sickening cut down my arm (I still don't know where that one came from) and my head was throbbing like there was a football team running drills inside my skull, but other than that, I was remarkably unscathed.

Just as I was about to get up and run for it, Mike's raucous voice echoed around the hallway. I made haste at being dead again.

"No." he said. There was a pause. "I told you it's just for-" another pause, he sounded angry. "But I _did!_" another pause, he sounded murderous. "I'm not taking them!" he snarled. I forced my lips not to turn down in a frown of confusion. "They're doing things to my head doc! I'm _not_ taking them." another pause. His voice came out low and dangerous when he spoke for a final time. "Violent behavior? What the hell do you know! I do _not _have a chemical imbalance!" then I heard a snapping noise.

At first, I thought he'd just shut his phone, but the sound of skidding plastic told me that he'd actually _snapped his phone in half _and thrown it on the floor. I couldn't help but wonder- how far away was I from being that snapped phone on the floor?

Then he picked me up, opened the closet door and locked me in. As soon as his footsteps had left the room again, I'd sat up, and after two hours of trying to get out, I was where I was now.

_How had it escalated this far?_ I groaned to myself. Suddenly, a loud clatter outside the door sounded, and Mike's deep voice shouted something incoherent. I pressed my ear to the cold metal and listened.

There was the sound of something being pushed, something heavy. Then another clatter and a popping noise. The sound of a bunch of small objects skidding across the tile floor followed, and gave way to silence.

The silence scared me more than the noise. What was he doing? Was I in danger? What had fallen, what had moved?

What a terrible position to be in- to be afraid of silence. The cynic in me was quiet, but if this had been any other situation, it would have been laughing.

But then again, how can being locked in a supply closet _ever _be any other situation? The air seemed too thick, blanketed almost. Maybe it was my own tension, or maybe it was the fact that there was _no _airflow in here.

I was just grateful that Mike had had enough sense not to lock me in something airtight, or else I'd have been dead before then. I could just imagine- he was all set to reap the rewards of his long stalker-dom, and then he opened the door and I was dead from carbon dioxide poisoning.

_Ha. Not funny Bella. _

I shook my head in the dark and tried to lose the headache I had. My ankle was throbbing painfully, and I took care not to shift it as I sat.

I was a mess. There was blood on my arms and hands and my hair was a tangled knot. I could feel my mascara running down my face and I was sure I was pale as death. My skirt had a long rip in the side of it and my shoes were battered and badly beaten.

Why had I chosen to wear heels? Alice always said I'd fall and kill myself in them… damn heels. I fingered the patent leather strap of the ankle tie and smiled, an idea coming to mind.

I pressed my ear to the door again- it was silent. Mercifully so. Using all the strength I could muster, I rose hesitantly to my feet. I was so focused on my ankle, I forgot the height limits of the closet and banged my head loudly against the metal surface. My hands, braced against the walls, felt the vibrations.

I held perfectly still, listening for any sign of movement on the other side of the door. There was no noise.

Slowly, very slowly, I reached down to the ground and picked up my shoes. With the sole in my hands, I took a deep breath and used the heel of the shoe to hit the lock of the door straight on.

It made an odd screeching noise. There was no response from outside, so I tried the door handle. It didn't budge. I frowned and hit it again, with more force this time. There was another squealing sound, and I could see a considerable dent in the door.

With one final breath, I hit the heel down like a stake and the lock cracked.

Leaving my shoes inside, I pushed the door open and emerged in the open air.

The feeling of freedom and fresh air was exhilarating and terrifying.

It felt good to be able to stand upright. After two hours of sitting locked up, just straightening my spine was bliss. But then again, I was out in the open, and the sudden vulnerability I felt tore through me.

The thought occurred to me that I had no idea where Mike was, and I cursed myself for not being more cautious. But with the lock on the janitor's closet defunct (the door wouldn't even _close _anymore) and empty, I had nowhere to go but _out_.

Now I just had to navigate the dark, not make any noise, limp on my broken ankle and escape. Hehe.

**Edward's POV**

Standing in Bella's front door, her purse in one hand and her cell phone in the other, I could feel my anger bubbling to the surface. The natural rage I felt at seeing my sister again came through, working it's way through my system and up to my brain.

The shock was wearing off, in short.

"Edward?" Alice blustered, mouth open.

"What are you doing in Bella's house?" I demanded.

"What? I _live _here." she said evenly.

"That isn't possible. I've dropped Bella off at this building for a week, so believe me, you don't live here. Why are you lying Alice?" my voice was low, betraying none of the overwhelming confusion I felt.

"Wait- dropping Bella off? Why would you do that?" she said, confusion playing on her face. She honestly looked confused, and my anger faded for a moment.

"Because we're dating." I stated directly. Alice ceased looking confused for a moment and looked totally enraged.

"You're _WHAT?_" she said darkly as she walked right up to me.

"I'm dating Bella! I have been for a week!" I stated angrily. _Who was she to interfere with my life?_

"DATING? She said you were just her boss, she said she didn't like you! She… she… oh. Oh, _oh, oh OH!_" She was groaning now, slapping a hand to her forehead and shaking her head.

"What the hell Alice? Are you trying to be irritating? I have _no _idea how you know Bella, or why she would tell you anything but you've-"

"Damnit Edward! She's my roommate!" she roared, cutting me off mid-sentence. "And… and my best friend." Her voice was quieter now, and it broke in the middle.

The world stopped turning.

It all made sense. Comprehension washed in, knocking me over flat, followed quickly by hurt and then, promptly, anger.

She had lied to me, she had _lied to me_. The whole time, she was with Alice, she knew everything about me from Alice, she had let our whole relationship progress, built on a foundation as equals, but she had been covering up a huge crack the whole time.

She knew that Alice and I hated each other, she came to me, dated me, kissed me, but it had all been a lie.

She and Alice… best friends. Alice had had her the whole time, she was Alice's friend first. Alice had her. She wasn't mine, she never had been, she was Alice's.

Anyone that Alice loved was out of my reach. They couldn't help but love her, they always loved her. Anytime that I had a hope of reaching out to anyone, her bubbly nature stole them from me.

The one person I'd let in was never going to be mine to begin with.

Alice was crying now, leaning against the door frame for support.

"She… she loves you. Oh what have I done? Oh Bella." She cried. It wasn't a cry for me, nor for anyone, it was Alice's lament.

"No. No, no, no. I knew this would happen! I let it… oh Bella. Oh Bella where are you?" she sobbed brokenly.

"Alice." I said tersely. "Where… I can't believe… she… you both… Why Alice? Why did you do this to me?" I snarled.

Alice just looked up at me, her big dark eyes shining with tears.

"Frankly Edward, I don't care." She muttered. "I… she's gone Edward."

How could Alice be so… so incredibly insensitive? To just blurt out my worst fear- the one that had just come true, how could she? The absolute nerve of her took control of me, my jaw clenched, my hands balled up and I resisted the urge to throw my fist into the wall.

"Alright Alice! You won! God damnit I don't know how this made you happy, but you won! Bella lied to me! The whole time, she lied."

"You're an ass Edward." Alice said, her voice full of malice. "You honestly don't get it do you? I never _wanted_ this. I never _tried _to push you away from us. I don't know why you think that all I want is to hurt you, that I try to sabotage you. I never did."

"But right now, I have my priorities in order. Finally, and for the first time since I was a child, I have my head in a good place. I've grown up. I have more important things right now, things I won't trouble you with, since you obviously think that Bella is a liar."

"Bella _is _a liar!" I shouted. Alice threw daggers at me with her eyes.

"You don't know _anything _about Bella, do you?" she hissed.

"Apparently not."

"Get out Edward. You don't deserve to know. You don't deserve her at all." She yelled, managing to sound cryptic though enraged.

"I don't understand!"

"What's there to get Edward? I still care about Bella, even though she lied to me, even though I'm hurt and confused, I still love her a lot. She's the only family I have right now, and I care about her so much that I'm letting you walk away without giving you a real piece of my mind- the one that's been waiting for me to let it out on you since we were kids." It was only then that I noticed that she was shaking.

"Alice-"

"Get. Out. I've got more important things to do."

"What do you mean, I don't deserve to know?"

"Get out!" she screamed.

"Alice-"

"Get out!" she roared.

And for the first time in my life, I listened to Alice.

**Alice's POV**

As soon as I shut the door, I broke down into sobs. With my back against the door, I cried and cried. I cried for the brother I'd lost, for the fights we'd had, for all the times that we'd shouted at each other and the love that we lost.

I cried.

He loved her, I knew he did. I could see it, it was obvious to me. It had been _right _there and I'd missed it.

The looks on her face when she came home, the perfume, the guilty expression on her face whenever I mentioned work, it was all _right _there. But I'd missed it.

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it.

But I had a mission, and now I had to fulfill it. With a shaking hand, I reached out and dialed three numbers on the phone.

9-1-1.

"Hello this is the NYPD, what is your emergency?" said a voice on the line.

"Yes, my name is Alice Cullen, and I'd like you to find my friend Bella. She's been kidnapped."

**oOo**

**There kittens, did that satisfy you? **

**But I've got a request. Lately, I've noticed that fanfic is filled with crap. I can't seem to find good stories anymore, so if you have any you really like, leave it in the reviews please!**

**oOo**

La tua Cantanti: Oh... really? Well I like my phrase better! And what's this about not being dedicated? You silly kitten, you're very dedicated! VeRy!

Kimkizna: Hey a new face I really dislike school in that regard... sigh. Oh wells!

UrJustAsSaneAsIAm: Hahaha, no, you aren't the first one to point that out, but the funny thing is, I've never even seen Mulan!

Eli-the-Reader: Cool! I wound you up... that sounded weird didn't it? Sorry...

MissCandy94: Whoa! That's a lot of comparisons! I'm very happy that my story made you so happy that it has the power to stop your heart, it makes me feel powerful! evil laugh

BreelovesEddie: Oh my goodness, you read the whole thing? Impressive dedication madam!! I'm glad you liked it, and it's really awesome how you touched on all the different topics. It was quite an epic review.


	17. Choiceless

**Chapter Seventeen**

**I'M NOT DEAD! REALLY!**

**So… I'm sorry? Yeah. Let's start with that, shall we? I'll try and make it up to you.**

**oOo**

**:Choiceless:**

**Bella**

Running through my old office was no doubt the weirdest thing I'd ever done. Perhaps, under normal circumstances, it would have amused me to see my old workplace again, maybe I would have laughed at all the changes that had been made, but not tonight.

Tonight I was running through the hallways, barefoot, sliding around in a ripped dress with a pounding headache and a broken ankle.

Okay, perhaps 'running' is a subjective term, because my broken ankle was seriously hindering my running pace. In fact, I was pretty much just hobbling through my office building.

I rounded a corner and came face to face with Mike. He grinned a sloppy grin at me and swiped out his arm. He had me pinned to his side instantly.

Apparently he'd been expecting me.

I fought as violently as I could, shouting and kicking, but his grip was firm and I had a broken ankle. He started to walk back to the office, and soon had me locked in.

He set me roughly down on the desk and locked the door. I looked around me, frantic.

There was nothing I could do.

Nonetheless, I leapt to my feet prepared to fight.

He advanced towards me, grabbing my arms and pinning them to my side easily.

"I waited a long time for you." He slurred out. I struggled harder.

"A really long time-" he let out a huge cough, one so loud it hurt my ears.

"I didn't take my medicine for you." Another cough.

"It was all wrong." His words broke in the middle. Something was wrong with him.

"You're sick." I pleaded. "You ought to wait until you're better. Let's go to the doctor, I'll go with you." His eyes closed.

"That's it." I murmured, trying to suppress the note of hysteria in my voice. He leaned heavily on me, letting out another cough. His body shuddered, and I felt the vibrations through my entire frame. Then he went still, his breathing rough and low.

Had he just passed out?

But I had more pressing things to worry about. For example, how I was going to keep the hulking frame of Mike from crushing me.

Oh yeah.

Limping heavily, and with many groans of exertion, I managed to flop him down on his desk. He was going to have a nasty bruise when he woke up, but that was the least of my concerns.

I reached into his pockets and found the keys. There was also a piece of paper among the fabric, so pulled it out.

It was a prescription for an anti-depressant I knew of, and then a few more prescriptions with names I didn't understand. I tucked the paper in my pocket and crept out of the room.

**oOo**

There was no way out of this freaking building. I had finally come to accept it. I had hobbled around the entire building. For one thing, the elevators didn't work, and most of the doors to the stairs were locked, requiring an access card.

My little door key didn't do anything to help me out.

Also, the phones lines were down.

I'd been all over too. Top floor, bottom floor, the last place I was checking was the lobby. I figured it unlikely that the revolving doors of the lobby would open to let me out, and I confirmed my suspicions as I lurched my weight against them.

Nothing happened, the doors didn't budge. Of course not. It was locked, and no doubt the glass was bullet-proof or something, not as if I could break it.

I was completely exhausted and fighting to keep the tears back. My ankle was blaringly painful.

I'd born the pain as I trudged through the building, up countless flights of stairs and through countless darkened corridors, using hope of escape as my motivation.

But now I'd reached the end of the line, and the tears I'd not let shed before spilled over.

So, collapsing to a seated position, I hunched against the glass in the dark. My tears came fast and silent. I was glad for the darkness, it was safer this way.

Who was I fooling here? There was next to no way for me to get out of this mess unscathed. What could I do? Face my dangerously unstable ex-boyfriend with a broken ankle?

_Don't think like that Bella, get yourself together. Let's think here._

I knew there was a security system, but it appeared as though Mike had pretty much shut down the building for the night, so no security team here. That was dumb of him.

But then again, something was clearly wrong with Mike. He'd stopped taking his medications, he wasn't well. _No duh Bella. _

I ran my fingers against the cool glass, trying to get a feel of how thick it was.

Breaking the window in my condition was a last resort. It would hurt like hell and I didn't have much strength left to fight with.

I could try logic. I knew he was in love with me, but I also knew he was dangerously unhinged, there was no guarantee as to how far using his affections for me would go.

What options was I left with?

Unfortunately, my decision making was cut short, as the sound of footsteps approached.

The lobby was suddenly flooded with bright light, and I winced against the onslaught on my retinas as someone turned on the lights in the lobby.

Shakily, I rose to my feet.

Let it be known that in the eleventh hour, I, Bella Swan, would not go down without a fight. In fact, let's just say that I wasn't going down at all.

Steeling my terror away in my chest, I squared my shoulders and grinned ruefully at the shadowy figure prowling my way.

Apparently, Mike had awoken from his stupor.

**Edward**

I drove.

More specifically, I charged. I took the back streets and drove as fast as the Volvo allowed. After about five minutes of racing, I discovered that I was headed towards the general vicinity of my office, though that thought didn't stay front and center for long.

I needed to get my facts straight. I needed to think it through I needed to- I needed to act like Bella.

The thought threw me for a loop, and the car swerved dangerously. Hitting the breaks, I made a u-turn and parallel parked beside a random building at an alarming speed. The car finally halted, I leaned forward on my steering wheel, cracking inside.

Betrayal hurt.

I looked out the window and nearly choked. I was parked outside the small coffee shop Bella and I had visited the day she'd broken her ankle, the day I told her I cared about her, the turning point in our relationship.

I looked away, stunned. Fate was a bitch.

So I turned to stare out the other window. The building on the other side of the street was dark, completely, except for the lobby, which was lit up brilliantly. The huge windows of the lobby gave me a clear view inside.

A clear view that offered me a clear picture of two figures, two figures I'd seen before, one of which I was I currently fuming mad at and the other whom I had a grudge against, seeing as the first figure had dated him before me.

Two figures who were presently pressed up against one another, kissing.

Bella. Bella. Bella.

"…_she's gone Edward." _It was like there was a narrator in my mind, shouting out Alice's words to be at Bella's apartment.

_She was never mine to begin with. _

My hands pushed down on my steering wheel, gripping it with all my might, so tightly in fact, that the horn went off. It blared loudly, and the two figures pulled apart. Bella's eyes zeroed in on my car, zeroed in on me.

She looked absolutely terrified.

Whether she thought that I was going to hit her or come yell at her for cheating or for lying or for breaking me down, I didn't care. I was too busy driving away to stop and ask.

**Bella**

The look on his face made my heart break.

It was like watching someone drown, knowing it was you who pushed them off the edge, and knowing you were too far away from them to save them.

But I had to do it, I had no choice.

_Mike had advanced, shaking and wavering. He veered off course for a moment, then corrected himself and increased his speed. He was flat out running by the time he reached me. I dodged neatly to the side, and he crashed into the window. _

_It didn't break. _

_His head rolling around and a crazed look in his eyes, he rose to his feet and lunged at me. _

"_Stop!" I screamed. Amazingly, he did. But it turns out, he had only stopped to rear a hand out as if to hit me. So I did the unthinkable. _

_I threw myself at him and kissed him full out on the lips. _

_Desperate times…_

_He froze for a moment before kissing me back. I didn't know what to do, because he began to snake his arms around me, pinning me there. I began to panic, and he started to notice. _

_I pushed against his chest, but his arms held me. I was running out of air, and panic overtook me. _

_Just at that moment, a car horn sounded, blaring through the glass. Mike turned distracted, and I wrenched myself free. I felt incredibly weak and terrified, and I was shaking. Mike's gaze turned murderous, and I followed his death glare out the window, followed it right into the driver's seat of a shiny silver Volvo…_

_Right to Edward._

_I started to move, to wave my arms, signal for help, for something, but he drove off, speeding away into the night. _

I think he must have taken my last shred of sanity with him, because right then, I broke.

I had just kissed my psychotic ex on the lips, full on, to stop him from doing something truly terrible to me, I had just broken Edward's heart, I had completely freaked out my best friend, I had lied and lied for something that had just sped off in a stupid Volvo.

Only one thought ran through my head. "_No._"

Slowly I turned back to Mike, who still looked murderous.

"What was Cullen doing-" he started to shout, but he stopped, a surprised look on his face.

The largest cough wracked his body, and he began to tremble. A wild look came into his eyes.

"You should have taken your medicine Mike." I breathed. A trail of cold along my cheek told me I was crying.

He coughed again, and again. He was reaching out for me when he collapsed, a big convulsing mass on the floor. I wanted to scream- for what I didn't know. Medical attention? The police? A paramedic? But I was paralyzed, completely frozen.

He gave one last shuddering cough and went still.

His breathing was much too slow, much to ragged. Wrong.

I stayed, paralyzed there, watching him breathing in and out, for god knows how long.

Long enough that I stopped trembling, long enough that I went completely numb, long enough for five armed police officers and a tear streaked Alice to burst into the lobby and surround us.

Long enough to finally, totally, and completely _break_.

**oOo**

**God what a mess.**

**This was seriously a bitch to edit kittens, I had to re-write it like, five times. But the end result was good I think. **

**Did you all get what happened? **

**I hope so…**

**Apologies, again, for the long wait. Seriously, I feel like crap.**

**oOo**

**..sadn...: **Thanks for all the suggestions! I appreciate it big time.

**JennCullen87:** Oh Edward... he can be so freaking dumb sometimes.

**jvanshuff: **GAH! I'M SORRY OKAY!!!

**bibliocrazed: **Something about your review seriously cracked me up, just thought I'd tell ya.

**Screams-At-Midnight: **She guessed, because they both knew that Mike was stalking her. Alice is also kinda... psychic sometimes? Ya know?

**Cassie(anon): **Goodness Cassie! Really? Wowza. Thanks so much!

**fantasygirl22: **Haha, that's true.

**tk-square as a pear: **Gracias.

**Lindsey8907: **Wait, I've read your story before! Seriously small world! The funny thing about this is that I didn't find it by clicking on your username, I was jut bored and looking for non-crap.... like... this evening, and then I sent you a PM, and then you're over here. Whoa. And you were talking about writers block, and then I was like 'Oh, I feel inspired so I'm going to go write now.' So you cured my writers block by talking about your writers block.

**twilightlove4ever: **Gah, your review made me smile so freaking big. Thanks kittten.

**Femi-Foxx:** Stories like that just make me so happy, because it's like people saying "I like your story enough to sit down and read it for an hour without dying." Which is a big deal.... for me.

**Little-Nudger-MY-ASS**: I'll get on that, and your name makes me laugh.

**LittleMissAlice**:

1: Because Edward feels like his family problems were all Alice's fault. I'll explain it later, but basically, Ed was a jerk to his family, he thought they were upset with him because of Alice, and bla bla.

2. The BPI? I dunno... a year or so back.... maybe?

3. NOW!

**harukacchi**: Unconditionally? Really... even after _that_ delay? Hehe.

**Magical Almost**: I'M GOING TO MAKE UP WORDS! YAY! And Death Cab rox. Love Narrow Stairs.


	18. Heartless

**Chapter Eighteen**

**I. Fail. Sorry for the wait. No further comment. **

**oOo**

**Bella**

**:Heartless:**

Tennessee Williams said, "We have to distrust each other. It is the only defense against betrayal." Well Tennessee Williams didn't know shit about love then did he?

Because truthfully, that is the _stupidest _excuse I've _ever _heard to distrust someone. Defense against betrayal? Could he have at lease used a better justification for running away? Could he have at least come up with something _better _than fear of betrayal? Because that is _not _a good reason not to trust people.

Yes, I Bella Swan had cracked, and now was ranting against perfectly innocent American playwrights who actually did nothing to me, except, you know, said something stupid.

Alice looked at me out of the corner of her eyes for the thousandth time.

"What Alice?" I asked tiredly. She looked away and said nothing.

"Alice, I love you dearly, but you're driving me insane with your side glances."

She sighed.

"I'm worried about you."

"You and everyone else." I muttered. She sucked in a deep breath.

"We care about you."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine."

"I wasn't even hurt." I muttered.

"That's not what I meant."  
"Alice, you shouldn't be concerned for me here, you should be _mad._"

"Bella, how could I be mad at you?" she sounded genuinely offended. "If you think that I would be mad at you for falling in-"  
"No." I cut her off. "It wasn't love." Her eyes narrowed.

"You're a fool Bella." She said quietly. I stood up.

I couldn't take it anymore. I was going insane.

Ever since Alice had found me, ever since Mike had had his heart attack thing, ever since Edward had left, there had been non-stop pity. Non-freaking-stop.

"_Oh my gosh Bella, we heard the news etc, etc, etc."_

"_How are you doing?"_

"_We should have lunch some time."_

"_Do you want to talk?"_

Gag me.

It got to the point where every time someone was concerned for me, I felt like… like… like kicking a puppy! A cute one with big eyes. And floppy ears.

But I was fine, I told them, I had a broken ankle and nothing worse. Alice begged to differ with me on the 'nothing worse' thing.

She'd been in full frontal mom mode, trying to make me soup, trying to convince me to sue Mike, trying, trying, trying.

_It's more than you've done for yourself. _My little voice muttered. _You're just sitting around, doing nothing. _

Well the little voice was wrong too.

I had done something.

I had done several somethings.

I called him, first. He didn't answer. No duh.

Then, I apologized to Alice. The conversation went as follows:

Bella: I'm sorry I lied to you about dating your brother Alice. I was just really… confused.

Alice: I don't blame you for keeping it secret. I was being kind of scary about my hatred.

Bella: Thanks.

Alice: Yup.

We were both too shaken up to dive into it further.

And then Alice had a portfolio she was dangerously behind on, she hadn't worked on it at all while I was missing and for the few days I was recovering, so I tried hard not to bother her as she got her work done.

I didn't mind being alone.

Then, I had quit my job.

Then, I had locked myself in my room, cried buckets, gotten up and eaten a brownie.

And so concluded my healing process. The way I saw it, I was done.

Edward thought I was a traitor, and I didn't think there was anything to be done about that. I was too shaken up to risk anymore heartache.

I thought involuntarily about all my relationships in the past.

With Charlie: I hadn't seen him since I was about twelve. Enough said?

With Mike: Turned out to have severe chemical imbalances that rendered him practically insane.

With Edward: No comment.

I was in no way thinking about dating again.

Mike was in the hospital, back on his medicine, and safely away from me.

My ankle was braced with a cast, and due to recover in six months.

My purse was still missing, but I had no intention of ever going to get it. I would see if I could get Rosalie to get it for me.

My heart was… well Alice had said 'a steel vice grip of agony' but I just though it was really… frozen, for now anyway.

Alice still had me confused.

I been walking on eggshells for so long, just waiting for one to crack and let out poisonous egg chemicals all around me, that her easy acceptance of my heartbreaking secret was unnerving.

My only guess was that she was feeling bad for having missed it, or bad that it was her who sent me to the grocery store, or that she had done _something_. I sensed we needed to have a 'heart to heart' pretty quick here.

But besides that, all was right in the world again. I was not in a box that was slowly closing in on me, I had no more stalker exes, I had no more lies from my best friend, I had no boyfriend, I was free, finally free. I'd just never guessed just how much freedom hurt.

**Edward**

She called me once, only once.

I guess she didn't want to explain just like I didn't want to hear.

It was sick how we were still this in synch.

I couldn't believe her. I just couldn't even bring myself to fathom it. So I didn't. I shut it away for later, I came to work, tried not to notice the big gaping hole her presence (or lack thereof) had made in my office. I worked, I ate, I slept, the cycle continued.

Numb.

That was a fitting adjective, I supposed. A numb mind for a numb body.

Rosalie even did me the honor of throwing me a confused look. She didn't say anything, but she had lowered herself from her ivory pedestal, so I must have looked pretty bad.

Emmett came knocking one day.

"Edward?" he said quietly. I didn't look up. I heard him sigh and lower himself down into a chair.

"What happened?" he muttered. I still didn't look up.

"You haven't come out in days, you look like hell, Esme's worried as shit, man, I don't know. It's been two weeks of this. How much longer till you-"

"Shut up Emmett." I muttered. He sighed again.

"Was it that girl, the nice one… uh…Bella?" his words stabbed me.

"No." I hissed. It wasn't Bella, it was Bella's betrayal.  
"It was, I can tell. Look, just don't give up on this. Whatever happened-" My head snapped up and I glared at him passionately.

"What can you claim to know about me Emmett?" I snarled. He didn't flinch.

"I know you well enough to have seen this coming." He said evenly. I sank back in my chair and shook my head.

"Though I didn't see _that_ one coming." He mused. I looked at him, and he was smirking. "Edward Cullen, backing down? Shocking."

"Don't be an idiot Emmett. What do you want?"

"I want to see how bad she had you whipped." He chuckled. I didn't respond and picked up my pen again.

Emmett rose to his feet and sauntered about my office, picking up various trinkets I'd won, a CD or book occasionally. I didn't stop him. These disturbances were not part of my routine and I really had no anger left to shout him out.

Eventually he paused at one shelf, looking at something for a long moment. I disregarded it as trivial. But he slowly turned around, holding in his hands the leather handbag of Bella's.

I felt a fresh wash of hurt and anger flow over me just looking at it.

"Put that back." I hissed, rising to my feet and crumpling a piece of paper in my hands. He looked alarmed and then interested. He unzipped it. The bastard unzipped it.

"Put. It. Back." I hissed, and he grinned. I took a step around my desk. He reached inside. I took a step towards him, he grabbed something on the inside, just as I sprang forward and grabbed the bag from his grip.

I dropped it to the floor like it was on fire.

But what he'd grabbed he still had, and he waved it in my face.

"It's addressed to you." Said Emmett, still smiling. Only then did I get a good look at it.

A letter, with my name on it glared out at me.

It wasn't a handwriting I was really familiar with, and Bella wouldn't have left a note for me in her bag, so… who had?

Emmett held out the letter to me, smiled sadly, and said, "I think you should read it."

I took it wordlessly, just staring, as Emmett left the room.

I just stood there for a moment, letting the encounter set in. It took me a minute to actually process the whole thing.

_What _had just happened?  
I looked down at the letter, the neat cursive letters printing out my name, and I was overcome with something like intuition.

I was suddenly sure that Emmett had planned this, which was motivation enough for me to just shred the damn letter right then and there.

And yet…

The letter stirred something in me. I couldn't exactly figure out what it was, maybe it wasn't even any emotion in particular, maybe I was just _responding_ to something, and that was a surprising experience in itself.

So I stood there, stock still, glaring down at the faded letter and my own name.

My name. What did I have left that mattered to that name? What held me to it? No woman, no passion, no family.

I was shockingly empty.

My name continued to glare at me.

Edward Cullen.

Good god I was a mess. Just seeing my name, actually stepping back and thinking about myself from an outsider's point of view… what did they see?

An empty vessel. Once full, but abandoned and left to toss on a raging sea.

That was who I was now.

I put the letter away.

I had too many holes in my hull now, I could hold no cargo any longer.

**Bella**

"Alice?" I said, breaking the four hour-long silence that had been going on that Saturday. Alice looked up from her fabric and her computer, smiling faintly at me.  
She looked dead tired, I noted, with dark circles under her eyes.

"Hey." She breathed. I sat down on an ottoman and Alice rolled her desk chair away from her desk to face me. She rubbed her eyes groggily.

I was silent for a minute.

"You know what's funny?" Alice said dryly. "I've been sober for two months today."

I recoiled and sat up stick straight. The reaction was physical.

Shock, horror, shame. _I'd forgotten._

"Oh my god Alice!" I half shouted. "I completely forgot! And you've been working so hard! How do you feel?"

I didn't know where to begin, and I could already feel myself struggling to keep on top of my emotions. This strong a reaction after so many days of stony silence was overwhelming.

Emotion had begun to frighten me.

Alice smiled tiredly and patted my hand.

"It's okay Bella, you've been dealing with a lot." She yawned. "I worked all night to finish my commission, and my portfolio is complete… finally." Her eyes drooped.

"Oh, uhm, here Alice." I offered my hand and she grabbed at it hazily. I helped her to her bedroom where she collapsed on her bed sleepily.

I made move to leave, but she grabbed my hand and forced me to stay.

"Bella?" she asked. I got the impression she was only half conscious.

"I'm here Alice."

"I'm so sleepy."

"Go to bed honey."

"Wait-" she slurred. "You have to… to… fight."

I said nothing, confused. _Was she having a bad dream? _

"He's… pushing you away. You can't let him… push… not you…too. Don't…" her words came out sloppily as her grip on consciousness slipped.

"So much… regret Bella. Not… not… you." The she fell asleep, exhausted.

_Anything worth having, is worth fighting for. _

I didn't know why the phrase came to mind. It just popped into my brain. I shunned it, mercilessly locking it away.

Fighting was not something I had any intention of doing.

Fighting was just bad.

It ruined my parents, it ruined Alice's family life, it ruined everything. I was done fighting.

Inevitability was in.

I was done being tough, brave Bella. Today, I was going back to my roots. I was going to pull a Renee.

I was going to run.

I was packing a suitcase and leaving Alice a note before I'd registered it.

And then I'd grabbed Charlie's letter, a suitcase full of mismatched clothes I didn't remember packing, and Alice's credit card, and I was off.

**oOo**

**………………..**

**Do you hate me yet? Because I hate me. In my defense, I've been really effing busy.**

**Still though.**

**Sorry. **

**oOo**

**bellsaway : **I'm actually really glad so many people were hating on Edward for the last one, he deserved it, but this chapter, Edward's getting closer to coming around, and Bella's the dumb one. Dear god, is that woman **_capable _of making a smart decision?!**

**Llola: **And here lies Violet, death by writers block. My tombstone will say "I regret nothing" on it, in the Twilight font.

**InLustWithEC : **AH! Don't feel bad for Mike! Well... actually, do. He wasn't really a bad person (he was a bit of a wanker to begin with, mind you, but not evil) he's just not... well.

**rocky937: **That's kinda, sorta, half my plan. But you're a good plot guesser**.**

**Sarquan : **WHOA! Don't shank me! That would hurt!

**Tears of a Believer : **HAHAHA! This made me laugh so hard. Seriously.

**Lindsey8907:** -headdesk- did I? GRUMBLEGROAN! Am I capable of doing anything right? Dear lord. Ah, well, no use crying over spilt bloodImeanMILK! And you're right. Mike is a sad character, and worthy of pity. I think you're one of the few people who picked up on that. He's sick. Unwell.

**Bekki Stretch**: Well aren't you up on the times! Indeed I did! My story was about a girl who falls in love with a spy. Epic lolz.

**pebbles606** : AH! That makes me feel pressured! But no worries mate, methinks I've got it.

**D. Kari24** : You astute little fox! Just you wait!


	19. Listless

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Um… yeah. Surprise! **

**Check the bottom for a summary of the story so far, if you've forgotten the plot (I sure had…) and an explanation.**

**:Listless:**

**oOo**

**Bella**

Forks Washington.

Good god, I'd stooped low.

I was on the doorstep of hell, or what had been hell for me as a child, anyway.

Charlie's house looked different now, shabbier and with older paint, but the windows were clean and the lights were on inside. Something moved behind the curtains, and I was hit with a ferocious urge to flee.

_Just run, _my brain pleaded, _you don't have to be here._

But where else could I be?

Ground zero called me forth, so raised my arm and knocked.

Charlie was at the door then, and I heard him fumbling with the lock and cursing as he dropped something. He wrenched the door open, eyes behind him as he pushed the door open and bent to grab something from the floor.

_His gun had fallen on the ground. _

Then he set the gun on a table and turned around to stare at me through the screen.

His face was pixilated through the mesh, little tiny cubes of Charlie glowing through, combining together into one dizzyingly familiar face.

I met his gaze and couldn't bring myself to flinch, couldn't bring myself to move.

"Charlie," I breathed. For the first time in my life, I didn't stutter on an awkward introduction.  
He kind of looked at me for a minute, like he was holding his breath and letting out a sigh at the same time. I agonized and fought the wave to flee.

I gripped my suitcase tighter. Finally, he opened his mouth again.

"Did you get my letter?" he asked through stern eyes.

"Yes," I murmured.

"You didn't reply." His tone was accusatory. I met his gaze.

"I couldn't find a pen." Was my genius response. He gazed through me.

"What kind of city is New York if they don't have any damn pens?" He muttered mutinously.

"I'm sorry, dad." I breathed.

I wondered if he heard just how _much_ I was apologizing for. It was such a loaded moment, I was afraid that if I even moved, it would shatter the delicate balance of the universe. Any sudden motion would surely send us all crashing off into the sun.

There was a beat of silence.

"Yeah, well, we got plenty of pens in the house." he grumbled, then he opened the screen door, took my suitcase, and I walked into the house and out of the cold.

**oOo**

Sometimes, I would catch myself looking at the phone.

I had my cellphone, but I'd forgotten my charger, so after an hour-long call to Alice, the battery went kaput and I was left stranded.

Now Charlie's phone was intensely symbolic.

With only a landline and a dial up internet service, the cord bound piece of plastic represented my only connection to New York.

In short, it taunted me mercilessly.

It would either sit there, menacing and unsympathetic, or worse, it would ring, whereupon Charlie would lumber to his feet, catch it on the sixth ring, answer it, and then have a brief conversation with someone who clearly was not anyone I knew.

I would feel better if I could answer the damn thing myself, but it was Charlie's house, not mine.

I didn't live here, even though I had once, and I was not within my limits as a guest to do anything that would allow me to become comfortable.

It was on my third day with Charlie that it grew unbearable.

I was sitting on the windowseat, reading Wuthering Heights and watching the rain, when the damned phone rang.

I glanced over at Charlie, who was asleep on the couch, snoring.

The phone rang again, mocking me, but he didn't budge.

I tried to ignore the it, tried to disregard all the possible reasons someone could have for calling me here, tried to drown out my own thoughts completely.

It rang again.

I closed my eyes and counted my breaths, peeking once to see if Charlie was waking. He still hadn't, and I feared that I was going to loose it.

On the fifth ring I was up and bolting for the phone.

I threw the heavy receiver up the my ear and shouted, "_Hello!_"

"Hello, this is an automated recording from Mutual Liberty Bank to tell you about our new no interest down mortgages with premium-"

That was when I snapped and let out a cry of frustration and anger. Charlie startled awake just as I slammed the receiver down on the handle so hard that it snapped and clattered to the ground.

The plastic earpiece bounced a couple of times as it hit the floor, and the curling cord rippled like waves on a tether. I sat still, staring at the phone for a long moment.

I guess you could say that was when I finally cracked, let the stress catch up to me, felt the hurt, wanted to break something, wanted to sit in my daddy's arms and cry like the little girl I was.

Charlie walked up wordlessly behind me.

We sat there, looking at the phone on the ground in silence.

I looked at him, and he wasn't mad, just observing.

"Who was it?"

"Telemarketer." I supplied, on the verge of tears. He paused for another moment and put a hand on my shoulder.

"That's my girl."

Then I wrapped my arms around my chest and choked out three sobs.

One for the pain, one for the sadness, and one for the anger.

Three stages, summarizing my life in equal parts. Sadness, pain and anger combined, and I just held onto Charlie, my only rock.

I felt bad for the pain I'd caused everyone. I was sorry I left my father, I was sorry I'd neglected my best friend, I was sorry I ran away.

I was consumed by the hurt. I didn't want my parents to have fought. I shouldn't have been required to convince myself I could handle it. I was hurt by Edward, by Renee, by Charlie, by me, anyone and everyone I'd let in.

And I was angry. I was angry at Edward for not sticking around, I was angry at Renee for teaching me how to run, I was angry at Charlie for never showing me how to chase. I was angry at myself for being an idiot and even more angry that I didn't know if I was strong enough to fix it.

Three emotions destined to chase each other around in circles for an eternity. How was I supposed to make the sadness go away if I was still so angry? And how could the anger ever leave when I was still so hurt?

I didn't know.  
Awkwardly, Charlie patted my back, and I pulled away and rubbed my eyes. He looked at me warily.

"Y'okay?" he asked. I sniffed and nodded.

"I just really, really, really hate those goddamned recordings." My laugh was shaky, but he smiled at me.

"You're gonna be okay, then. 'Cause we don't have a phone anymore." He laughed awkwardly.

"I'll buy you another one." I promised. There was a long pause.

"What happened to you, Bells?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Life happened, I guess. It turns out I'm a flake, and the people I know weren't who I thought they were. Everybody had something about them I didn't see, and I ended up screwing things up. I just don't know how to make it better. I don't know what to do." I surprised myself with my honesty, but my brief sob fest left me feeling cleansed.

Alice said I needed a good long cry, which I had denied myself on the basis that a long cry would just make me sick.  
But I _had_ needed a good cry, it just didn't have to be a long one.

"Well," he said, "I think you've got to do something, because until you do, you won't have anything at all." He pause for a minute, thinking. "Well, you know, good luck figuring that one out." He smiled at me, eyes contented.

I wondered what I looked like to him. The thought was fleeting.

**Alice**

"Hello?"

"Emmett? It's Alice. Bella's gone, she ran away."

"Holy shit Alice, really?"

"She went back to Forks, to be with Charlie, I guess."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. She never was very good at facing her problems."

"She seemed so tough."

"Part of the ruse, I suppose."

"Huh."

"Emmett, did Edward read the letter?"

"No. I came in later, it was unopened."

"Damn him. I thought that would work."

"Nope. Sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"We can't let this go on much longer, Alice. Something has to happen."

"I know, Emmett. I just don't know what to do."

"Well, Bella ran away, and that didn't work, so… maybe…"

"….you want me to _talk _to Edward, don't you."

"You care about Bella right? And he'd listen to you."

"Why do you think _that?_"

"Because you're the only one he ever really cared for, Alice. He's bound to take you seriously."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You know he's actually kind of an annoying little shit, we really shouldn't be encouraging him."  
"Don't joke."

"Don't run away."

Then he hung up.

oOo

I didn't knock. I was pleased with myself for that. Knocking implied some hesitation, some reserve that respected solitude and privacy. In my opinion, Edward didn't deserve respect, solitude, or privacy. He deserved a reality check and perhaps a good right hook.

Maybe it was petty of me, but I didn't much care, so I pushed in.

He was a wreck, but a carefully controlled one. His skin was pale but clean-shaven. His shirt was wrinkled but spotlessly white. His collar was pressed but unbuttoned.

He was trying to stay presentable, but in all the wrong areas.

"You look like hell," I said, ignoring the pleasantries.

"Nice to see you too, Alice." He drawled, a dark smile flitting briefly across his face. But then it was gone, and he was looking down at a paper on his desk, marking it occasionally with a red pen. There was a silence that neither of us wanted to fill first.

"Well," I said, finally resolved to be the 'grown up', "I think that it's horribly cliché of you to fall into a depression after the girl leaves. I mean, you could at least take up poetry and then drink yourself into a hole in the ground." I wanted my words to seem careless, but they might have come off as desperate. I wasn't sure.

"Alcoholism? That's funny, coming from you." He said, a biting edge to his voice that was almost cruel. I sighed, looking down at my feet.

"Look, Alice, I'm… just… what do you want?"

"You haven't read the letter yet." I muttered, teeth clenched. It had become immediately apparent that this was going to be harder than expected.

"No… I haven't."

"I am actually surprised that you admitted to it."

"It slipped my mind."

"Liar. When I walked in, your eyes went to me, and then right to the bookshelf. It's been haunting you. And rightly so." I tried not to sound smug, but it was hard.

I had set out on this mission with the idea of being mature, about handling our problems like sensible people, but he still made me feel like his little sister, like a child, and I couldn't stand it.

"You don't know anything about me, Alice. You never really did."

"No, I guess I didn't." there was another pause. "Oh, Edward, how could you be so stupid?" I said beseechingly. To my surprise, I sounded genuinely caring. To my further shock, I _felt_ genuinely caring.  
His eyes flitted up to mine, and then sank back to the paper. His pen scratched furiously.

"Fine then. You won't talk, then I will. Edward, you pushed her away, you know that?" Silence. I tried a different approach, and my voice was pleading this time. "Look, I know you're angry, but you don't even know the whole story."

"The whole story? You're telling me there's more?" his voice had the same dark edge to it as before. I didn't like it.

"Quit being dramatic. If you'd stuck around to figure out what happened, we wouldn't be in this mess. Christ, Edward. You're sinking into a hold in the floor while she's in Forks, drowning her sorrows in rain, or whatever the hell they have up there, and no one here is communicating. Do we not live in the twenty first century? We have cell phones, god damnit."

"Look, cut to the chase." He snapped. "What do you mean about me not knowing everything?"

I felt a stupid flare of happiness that he at least wanted to know, that all was not lost.

"You tore off before you even got the whole story. All you saw was half the picture."

"Quite speaking in riddles, Alice. You're driving me mad."

"Oh, I'm driving _you _mad? What is this, backwards day?"

Edward glared passionately at me. "I will not hear this from you any more, Alice. Get out!"

He was shouting by the end of the sentence, and I was on my feet, my temper dictating my legs to the door. I seized Bella's purse off the shelf, opened the door and prepared to storm out. But I stopped.

This was not why I came in here. I promised myself that I wouldn't be carried away. I couldn't be selfish: I wasn't here for me. I was here for Bella, my best friend, my comrade, my family. She needed me. I exhaled, shut the door, and turned around. He looked shocked, since this was unprecedented.

I sat back down in the chair. "Look, I'm… I'm always so selfish." I muttered. "Okay. Bella was being stalked by her crazy ex, Mike, but I think you knew that."

Edward nodded tersely. "So he kidnapped her and dragged her off to her old office firm." I spoke quietly, trying to keep my emotions in check. Edward, however, inhaled sharply.

"He cornered her in the lobby, and he was going to hit her, so she kissed him to disarm him, which is what you saw, I think."

I watched Edward to gauge his reaction, but he was holding perfectly still. "See, she wasn't cheating on you, she was trying to throw him off guard! You know how clever she is," I was speaking quickly, trying to make him see that she hadn't betrayed him. "And it worked, Edward! She's safe and-"

"I'll kill him." Edward growled. His eyes looked a few shades darker, and he was gripping a pen in his hand so tightly that I feared it would break. "I will break his neck." He spoke with such venom that I leaned back a bit.

"Well, tough." I said frankly. "He's in a hospital, being treated for a chemical imbalance when he stopped taking his medication."

"I don't care. I'll kill him." Edward rose to his feet and began pacing back and forth.

"She wouldn't want you to!" I cried. This was spiraling out of control. He was being way too reactive. "She didn't press charges, because-"

"She didn't press charges? That little fool!" he shouted.

"Don't you ever _think?_ Bella _hates_ courtrooms! You know her parents got divorced, you know how much that hurt her! She never wants to go to court, she wants to forget it happened. And you know what?" I paused to make sure I had his attention, and I did.

"She's trying to forget _you._"

There was a beat of silence after my words.

"GOOD." he roared, throwing his hands in the air. "When will you _people_ get it that I do not care about her? She's dead to me!"

"Then _why_ do you want to kill him?" I shouted in exasperation. Edward paused for a few seconds, searching for an answer.

"Because he's a psycho! Do I need another reason?" he finally shouted.

"I can give you several why you shouldn't." I stated flatly. He stared blankly at me. I sighed.

"Because that won't fix it, because it will just make you angrier, because it won't change what happened, because she'll just get hurt again…" I trailed off quietly, thinking of Bella.

"I. Do. Not. Care. About. Her." Edward closed his eyes and crossed his arms, as if he could physically repel the truth.

"How long are you going to stay numb, huh? Why is this your default reaction? You just shut all of us out so you won't have to feel anything, and what does it get you? You end up hurt. They end up hurt. I end up hurt. I'm tired of seeing you like this, Edward!"

"You do not know anything about me, or my relationship with _her._" he had calmed down, seating himself in the chair.

"You won't say her name, Edward." I countered. He didn't contradict me. "Say it. Say her name."

Edward sat back down in his chair, looking tired. I commanded him again, but he just looked at me.

"Please, Alice. Just… go away."  
"Not this time. Say it." There was a long silence. Edward stared down at his hands like he was trying to find the answers there.

"Isabella Swan." He murmured quietly, breaking the silence. And I felt the pain there. He spoke her name like it was the last phrase he'd ever utter, like he was breathing his last breath and those were his dying words.

"I'll read your letter, Alice." He said quietly. "Are you happy? Don't answer that. Just go, please."

I rose to my feet as Edward turned and faced the window. I left the letter and a small slip of paper on his, and then I left the office.

I didn't start crying tears of sadness and relief until I got on the subway.

**Edward**

Feeling like I'd just been hit by an emotional train, I opened that goddamned letter that had been haunting me. I found it hard to believe that she'd had this in her purse the entire time, that she'd lied to me about her relationship with Alice.

It was dated a few days before Bella had started working for me.

_Dear Edward,_

_I know I haven't exactly spoken to you in a while (a long while I'll admit), but this letter should serve its purpose just fine. God, I don't even know what I'm doing, but that's life isn't it? That's something you would say. See, I still know you, more or less._

_I wish you could see me now. I'm doing better. Or I'm in the process of doing better. Truthfully, I will be doing better. And soon. I can feel it. I have a way of knowing these things. But you knew that._

There was a break in the page, and it started up again in a different pen.

_I feel angry at you sometimes. I never turned Esme and Carlisle away from you, or whatever it is you thought I did. We were two confused kids who were too stupid to face our problems, trying to figure out who we were. Did you ever figure that out for yourself? We stopped talking before I got to ask._

_But in truth, mostly I feel sad when I think about us, about what happened. I don't claim to be a saint, and this letter is by no means an official apology, but we both know we screwed things up._

_I guess I'm writing this because I'm trying this new thing that my friend taught me. Sometimes, you have to do painful things. Sometimes, you have to fight._

_She tries so hard to be there for me, but she's got her own problems. I feel so selfish, always relying on her. I wonder if I'm just keeping her in a cage by having her as my friend. But I'm too selfish to let her go. I need her._

There was another break in the page, and the pen changed again.

_Truthfully, I feel the need to explain some things to you… and to myself._

_I don't know how we can keep hating each other after this. Because you know what? I can't keep this up. I'm changing, I'm growing up, and if you don't too, you won't even have __me__ anymore, Edward. Don't deny it, you liked fighting with me because it proved you had someone, anyone, and that you weren't alone._

_I know that because I felt it, too. But I found friends, people who are willing to accept me for who I am- faults and all. People like that are priceless, really, truly priceless, because they teach you how to love yourself as they love you._

_All that we learned from fighting was how to hate ourselves and hate other people and then how to hide that hate. It's sick. I'm healing, Edward. I know that saying all these things doesn't make me any different, but I'm working hard at becoming the kind of person my friends can be proud of._

_I wrote you this letter, because if you don't take a page from my friend's book you'll really be alone. Completely. Because I can't fight with you anymore. If I want to grow up, then I've got to either let you live miserably and alone or tell you to follow me._

_So this letter is coming, oddly enough, from my heart. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think you want to be alone as much as you think you do. You need people who help you deal with your problems, who help you grow, just like anyone else._

_And while I am still very angry I haven't forgiven you yet, I don't want you to be alone Edward, and I believe that you can follow me out of the dark._

_Bella says it's nice out there in the light, and I plan to find out for myself._

_-Alice_

Well… shit.

I looked hazily down at the piece of paper on my desk, and I saw an address written in the same handwriting.

The location was Forks, Washington, and the recipient was one Isabella Swan.

I held still for a few minutes, thinking, but the only thought running through my mind was how I needed to buy a plane ticket.

Right now.

Shit.

**oOo**

**hello, kittens!  
Summary: **so, Bella worked with Edward in his office while living with his sister, Alice. She too the job sort of accidentally, after she went to his office to deliver a letter of mysterious contents to Edward from Alice. The two hate each other, because Esme and Carlisle adopted Alice, and she commanded a lot of their attention. Edward got defensive, and they had a huge fight. Anway, Bella and Edward started dating, and Bella, being afraid of emotional conflict, never told Edward she was roommates with his estranged sister. She never delivered the letter to him. Meanwhile, Bella's ex, Mike, becomes increasingly stalker-ish. He ends up kidnapping her and taking her to the lobby of her old office, where he tries to attack her. She kisses him to startle him into letting her go, just as Edward (who was already furious, because he tried to deliver a bag to Bella's apartment and found Alice in stead) drove by (their office buildings are across from each other) and saw. He thinks she's having an affair, blahblah. Bella, being an emotional coward, won't go tell him the full story, since she knows what she looked like in the lobby, and that Edward know about how she lives Alice. So they both fall into a dark pit of despair etc, and Bella goes to reconcile with her father, who she hasn't lived with since the days of her parents traumatic divorce. BUT Edward still has Alice's letter. And then that's where this chapter starts off.

**Now, if you're wondering what prompted me to start it up again after my year long absence, I'll tell you the truth. I don't know. I'd been receiving reviews full of encouragement, so maybe it was just the ego boost, but I think it was that I re-read it and I liked it. What can I say? **

**I should have written the whole thing out before I started posting it. I should have. That would have saved us all a lot of trouble, and that was my mistake. **

**In the meantime, my personal life is rather a mess. My parents are divorcing, which is not pleasant since I'm still in high school and I live with them. But I find the community here to be very supportive, so that's wonderful.**

**At any rate, I hope to have this story finished before the end of the month, when I'm leaving for a month for France. But if I don't get it done, I am committed to finishing it. Not that my word means much to you guys, at this point (fair enough). **

**Anyway, I love you all, and I apologize for the long AN and delay. **

**MUAH, -Vi. **


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